The Little Book of Truths and Lies
by Ninjagirl2211
Summary: They laughed a lot together when they were younger, and they were friends, despite all the odds...then they grew up. Itachi/OC Drabble-ish series
1. Truth—The Red Balloon

**The Little Book of Truths and Lies**

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**Chapter 1: Truth—The Red Balloon**

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He'd been acting strangely lately; he knew, they knew—_she_ knew. She knew without speaking and said nothing to him about it, but stared at him with sad, questioning eyes. She knew that if there was something bothering him, he would tell her only if it was by his own violation to do so, and for no other reason. Interrogating him would yield no results. She knew this, and walked silently by his side as they made their way to the festival in one of the outlying towns around the village.

He'd had little time to spend with her lately. They both had a mutual understanding of this, since she was similarly as busy with training as he was with…missions. He was mildly surprised though as she gently slid her hand into his and entertained him with that soft smile of hers, "You've been working so hard lately, ne? I'm not surprised. I bet you've hardly gotten any sleep at all, have you? Hmm?"

He simply dodged the question and returned with one of his own, "And you…? Have you been working hard, Nano?"

She grinned slowly and nodded, "You can ask Sasuke-kun. Sometime around last weekend, was it? I was helping him with training the other day while working on one of my new seals at the same time, ne? And…you know me and my 'careless distractions'… Let's just say I now have a brand new scar in a very _interesting_ location, hmm?"

He tried not to laugh, though it was very hard, and he couldn't help the curl that lifted one side of his lips when he looked at her knowingly, his head tilting as he asked her, "Is that so…? Can I see?"

Her ember eyes widened and her face turned a deep blush red, "_No_!"

"Hmm…so that's what you meant by 'interesting'…" He raised both his dark brows, and teased her further with false gravity in his tone, "Did Sasuke see…?"

"_No_!" She continued to protest, shaking her head furiously and gripping his hand even tighter. This time he _did_ laugh and with that simple sound, her distressed features melted back to her usual smile, and laughed along with him as if it were something infectious.

It was a fact to behold that there were still people in this world that could bring a smile to his face even in the worst of times… Nanoha didn't even need to try. And as his eyes danced upon the girl's soft, laughing features, he thought to himself, '_These are only a few of the things I am trying to protect_—_this laughter_—_this smile_. _These are the things that will make it all worth it in the end._'

Her smile and the laughter died away soon enough however as they walked on in silence, reaching the town, as if sensing the direction of his thoughts. Nanoha's face progressively faded to regain its former sobriety even as the crowds of the festival bustled around them cheerfully. The sounds of more laughter, joyful shouts, and the delicious smell from numerous food stalls wafted around them like a constant festive aroma. There were children running around their legs with fake ANBU masks and shuriken stars, and couples like themselves clinging to each other's arms so as not to become separated within the fray. They seemed to be the only couple around without smiles on their faces—the only unmatched duo, as always seemed to be the case with Itachi and Nanoha since the very beginning; the two held loosely to each other's hands as they ambled on through the throng at their own pace, as if they'd wandered into an entirely separate dimension from everyone else.

Lanterns and festival streamers were strung up above their heads as they walked the narrow streets, the crowd unbaiting, though it seemed to bother neither of them. Itachi began to worry for his normally talkative partner, however, as she hadn't spoken a single word since they'd arrived. Though her lips formed a bleary, smile, he sensed the melancholy feeling in it, as she walked and stared ahead with glazed eyes as if everything she saw before her—him, all the people, the festival food—all of it were just a foggy dream, and she, in a trance. In that moment, being with her, he felt too that maybe it was all just a far off dream…

She _was_ dream-like enough in vision that he could believe his mind had fabricated her after all—a genjutsu gone wrong. She wore one of his mother's old yukata she'd let her borrow for the occasion. Dark blue in color with cream-white cranes embroidered on the outer layer, he thought the colors didn't suit her at all. Maybe a soft, sakura pink, like several of the other girls' yukata he'd seen at the festival would be better, though…he felt the color that always suited her best in the world was the purest, brightest crimson red.

He didn't know exactly when it had become her favorite color, or if it had always been that way. Maybe it was after the day he'd given her the scarf that was even redder than her hair and had become her constant companion since that time on? The one his mother had taken hostage as she did up the girl's hair, and promised to return upon the successful completion of their 'date.' Nanoha hadn't had room to refuse, as she'd been doted upon by the woman successively for a good thirty minutes, and was immensely grateful…though Itachi imagined his mother had been itching to do such things since she'd been blessed with only two lovely boys instead of a daughter.

She'd been utterly delighted to learn the nature of his and Nanoha's relationship. He had to admit, he was grateful for at least _someone's_ support in the matter… His father still wasn't pleased with him, though decided it didn't matter as long as they didn't resolve to elope with each other and have twenty kids afterwards. The very thought of such a scandal in the clan would probably drain all the color out of the man's face, Itachi imagined with cynical amusement. He'd often mused upon making such plans with Nanoha out of pure spite for his clan ties…but that was before. Things were different now. Everything was changing…and Itachi knew Nanoha was the kind of person who could sense change in the air like old bones could sense the coming storm.

As she continued to stare blankly ahead in her dream-like state, he spied a balloon vendor handing out free, helium swelled orbs to young children; his eye caught on the single brightest red, snagged it without thinking, and held it out to the red headed girl unsmilingly. With that, she broke from her daze, and after a pause her own sun yellow eyes captivated by the red that seemed to contrast against everything, glowing, she reached out for its matching red string. However—a mistake on both their parts—he let go too fast, and her fingers were too loose to properly grip the red thread of destiny before it slipped up and away above their heads.

They were both ninja, of different ability albeit, though if they'd wanted to, they could've caught the string before the balloon could float away into the night sky. However, they only stared after it as the speck of red grew further and further away—Itachi, unblinkingly, and Nanoha, with an expression of utter helplessness upon her features. She suddenly let out a quiet gasp, reminiscent of a sob. Inexplicable tears welled in her eyes as they stared, transfixed on the already so distant dot of red in the sky, and she let go of Itachi's hand to obscure her face with her fingers, as if to hide from the cruel reality life had presented her with.

With that, the noiseless dimension that had formed around them shattered, inviting in all the noise of the festival with it…and something else as well. Itachi didn't quite know what it was at first, and he wasn't so sure Nanoha did either…but they both felt it break within them with the disappearance of the red balloon. As it floated away, high into the distant skies, it seemed to have taken something precious with it. With that, they could no longer ignore the thing that both of them knew was coming…and it had moved the girl to tears.

He so badly wanted to touch her, to reach out to her, to stop the tears, and replace it with the smile he had grown to love. But he could do nothing, absolutely nothing, which could possibly comfort her. All he could do was watch torturously, yet was made to remain motionless and indifferent, as tears streamed from between her fingers, dripping from her knuckles and down the backs of her hands. They stood stationary as the crowd parted around them like a river around a stone.

"I—I'm sorry…hehe…" She eventually wiped her tears, smiling through them transiently, "I have no idea what's gotten into me… What a stupid thing to cry about, ne?"

Slowly, he shook his head, reaching out to retake her slender fingers that were still trembling, "I don't think it's stupid at all…" He wasn't referring to the balloon. She knew it too. He then asked her quietly, "Do you want to go back home?"

She shook her head too, attempting another smile, "We still haven't seen the fireworks yet…" A real smile this time, "Besides…I feel like this might be the last night I'm going to have you all to myself for a long, long time, you know? I'm sorry for being selfish, but…I want to make it last…just a little while longer, ne?"

With that, they discretely scaled one of the buildings, and sat on the edge, their legs dangling side by side as they stared up at the starry night sky, both their hands joined between them. Smiling blandly at an errant thought, she told him without looking away from the sky, "…I used to be _terrified_ of fireworks, you know." She laughed, as he sent her a dubious look, glancing at him once to grin, "I nearly _scandalized_ my poor mom by attempting to crawl under her _skirt_ for my genius hiding place…"

Again, without trying, the story brought a smile to his face, "I was under the impression that you feared nothing, Nano…"

She let out a funny little snort, and glanced at him skeptically, "You're so wrong about that. I'm afraid of so many things I can't even count them all…" She shook her head, trailing off, her face sobering again with a sad little smile, "But fear is like a puzzle, ne? There's a key to overcoming each one. My mom taught me that…" She went on, "I used to hide under the bed every time there was a thunderstorm, _terrified_ of the lightning…and Mom taught me a trick. She said, once the lightning flashes, start counting…one-one-thousand…two-one-thousand…three-o ne-thousand…and then when the thunder sounds, stop counting. Whatever number you stopped on, divided by three, is the number of kilometers away the lightning was when it struck." She finished, "Neat, ne? Counting the distance always helped me calm down when I was afraid, you know?"

His mind immediately analyzed the statement and jumped to consider the speed at which one perceives light and sound, "…Your mother was a very intelligent woman."

She nodded slowly, smiling nostalgically, "The smartest person I ever knew…" She then met his eyes knowingly, "with the exception of _you_." A teasing glint shined in her eyes, "You're so smart, I'm amazed your head isn't disfigured by your giant brain, you know? You should be careful to never pick your nose, ne? Because it's dangerous—you could accidentally poke your giant brain, and it could leak out all over—" And with that, she'd already got him laughing. Again, he didn't think she even tried, but she laughed along anyway, shoving his side with her shoulder good naturedly, "Ne, I could be serious, you know!"

But just when he was about to reply to the ridiculous claims, the first of the fireworks went off with a '_boom'_; it was bright red. By the way her eyes widened, reflecting the blooming sky flower in their orbs, how she twitched, unable to sit still, and gripped his hand tighter, he ventured to question, "Nano…did your mother ever teach you the trick to overcoming your fear of fireworks?"

She shook her head slowly, moving closer to him and hugging his arm as if nearness was the key. He wondered for a moment why she'd been so adamant about staying to see them, though realized she'd already given him the answer… He didn't think she cared where they were, whether it be at a loud, rowdy festival none of them really enjoyed with the detested fireworks overhead, or even a battlefield…if only they could be together just a little while longer. The thought brought a sad smile of his own to his face…since he knew without a doubt that this would be the very last time they'd ever have the chance…

"Nano…" It was with that thought in mind that he told her, "I think I might know the trick to this puzzle of yours."

"Really?" She tore her eyes away from the light in the skies, blinking at him so innocently he had to smile at the irony, "What is it? You'll tell me, right?"

"Close your eyes," He suggested quietly, "and I'll show you…"

She did so unquestioningly, complete trust radiating from her that almost made him feel guilty for what he was about to do as he reached out to brush her cheek softly with his free hand and leaned down close to lightly touch his lips to hers. It was the simplest sort of kiss that lasted only for a fleeting moment—their first, and their last—nevertheless it still brought about that inexplicable surge of heat that would become familiar to neither of them over the years, for neither would love another again as they loved each other then. And when he pulled away from her it was to see her smile again and she laughed with a soft blush dusting her cheeks, "As expected…if you do that, then I won't be afraid of anything. I could overcome _any_ fear with that trick… It's a little dangerous, you know?"

"I do." He nodded in understanding. Itachi knew all too well that love was the most dangerous trick in the book. Dangerous, because it could be used against you, because it could hurt you so deeply it could kill you, because it could drive you entirely _insane_ if you let it, and sometimes…it was the hardest thing to let go of…even if letting go was the only thing you could do.

She stopped at a stall selling pinwheels as they left—the only real interest she'd shown in any of them during the entire time they were at the festival—and bought the most unique, and expensive one there; a double pinwheel with designs and colors of silver, blue, gold, and black. He sent her a knowing smile and shook his head as she stuck the pinwheel carefully in the back of her obi, turning to fix him with a stern look, "Ne, if you say the word 'spoiled,' I'm going to get angry."

He continued to shake his head with amusement, "I've said nothing of the sort. I'm sure he'll be thrilled. You always bring him such nice things…"

Her sour look intensified, "Even if you say it nicely like that, it's the same exact meaning! Besides, you're just as bad as I am, you know!"

He bowed his head in an attempt to look slightly guilty, but his heart wasn't in it. On one hand, he loved spoiling his little brother. On the other, he wanted him to learn to be strong. He needed to be very careful to reach a compromise on these two warring fronts. Nanoha, in contrast, had no such reserves. She spoiled the boy like there was no tomorrow, and acted like the big sister he'd never had, although Sasuke had a habit of calling her 'Nee-_chan_' as if _she_ was the younger one; she didn't seem to mind in the slightest.

Despite this, Itachi was grateful for her presence in a way. She went so far as to put aside her own training to spend time on Sasuke's development when Itachi was stuck with missions. Though they usually ended up getting into all sorts of trouble together, and on more than one occasion something ended up getting blown to bits; they both managed to have fun while learning from their mistakes. However, Father had lately been taking more of an interest in Sasuke's progress, intensely enough that Nanoha had been removed from the picture almost entirely.

She sighed, "I haven't been spending nearly enough time with him lately…I've been getting swamped with D ranks and even a few solo C ranks outside of the village… If I didn't know any better, I'd feel like someone was deliberately _trying_ to keep me away from something, ne?" Itachi may or may not have had something to do with that… "I just about literally had to _kill_ someone in order to get this week off! You know what I mean?" He went slightly pale. Not this week.

"Maybe it's a sign." He suggested abruptly, though he hadn't wanted to resort to it, "Maybe you should try for the exams again."

She tapped her chin thoughtfully, her eyes clouding with doubt before turning them on his own, "You really think I could do it this time?"

He nodded—he'd say just about anything at this point to get her out of the village—pointing out, "Your capacity has just about doubled since the last time. I know a couple of guys who've been trying to put together a team. Think about it carefully. The deadline is tomorrow."

"They're holding it in Suna this year…" She mused critically, then nodded and sent him a genuine smile, "Okay. I'll do it. This time for sure, ne? You can count on it."

Nearly overcome with relief, he sent her a smile, "I'll let those two know, then. Their names are Kamizuki Izumo and Hagane Kotetsu. They're older, so they'll be hard on you, but you'll make it. Keep in mind, you'll need to turn in your application with them by four o'clock PM."

"Yes, _Sempai_, I know, I know!" She bumped his shoulder with her own jokingly teasing him with her old nickname for him before hooking her arm through his and telling him sincerely, "Thank you. I'm going to make you proud, even if you're not watching me. No more slacking off for Nano, ne? Hehe…"

"I'm always proud of you." He told her without having to think about it; it was true.

She smiled for a while after that, but just like their very first merry conversation had gone, it died off on the very same stretch of road they'd taken to get to the festival. It was when all jovial humor and cheerfulness leaked away from her face that Nanoha stated the issue at hand plainly, "Something is not right in the Uchiha Clan." He stopped walking, causing her to halt as well, going on to say, "You don't have to tell me about it—clan business is clan business—but…all this pretending like nothing is wrong is like a bunch of black muck, and it's clogging up my insides… Give me some credit, ne?" Her voice lowered, "If…if something is bothering you, then it's bothering me too…and…I have a feeling that we won't be together anymore after it's over…" Her voice wasn't the only thing that started to tremble, "So…I'm…I'm really sad, you know? I feel like we're always having to say goodbye…"

Tears were brimming in her eyes when he pulled her close. She was always smarter than she gave herself credit for…smarter than what was good for her. If she figured out any more than what she already knew, then…he didn't even want to _think_ about the consequences. He couldn't keep her safe this time. All he could do was send her away—away from the village—to the chunin exams and pray she made it out in one piece, pray that she would be too busy with the aftermath to figure out what had happened in her absence, pray that this was the one puzzle she wouldn't dwell on…then again…he'd never been one to leave things to chance…

"Don't worry…" He murmured against her hair as if he could soothe away all the horrible things just by running it through his fingers; it was like blood, "it will all be over soon…"

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**DUN DUN DUNNNN... —Belt "The Croods"**

**'Kay, so, this is the rewritten version of "Whisper"  
****Different title, different OC, different setting, same general plot**

**It's technically an unofficial drabble-ish series, and chapters may come out of order, **

**but like I said, it has a plot, and there _will_ be consistency in this plot or _so help me_...**

**Anyway, you should learn more about Nanoha in the chapters to come. Early years will mostly be from an Itachi-esque perspective.**

**And, before anyone asks, YES, Nanoha's style is based a _little_ off of Ayano from Kagepro. Their name even uses the same kanji, come to think of it...**

**SO, you know the drill. Tell me what you think. **

**Your opinion helps with the writing process.**


	2. Lie—The Broken Picture Frame

**The Little Book of Truths and Lies**

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**Chapter 2: Lie—The Broken Picture Frame**

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"Oi! Nano-chan! What the—" A voice shouted behind her as she shoved past the duo and left them behind, her scarf-tails billowing behind her. She thought it might've been Izumo and Kotetsu, but she honestly didn't care at all. Having separated from them to head towards the compound and let them know the good news, she'd found herself stunned. There were squads barring entry, and upon inquiring about just what exactly was going on, she was met with a horror inducing response.

"Fugaku-san—" She'd heard herself mouthing the name of the grumpy faced Uchiha clan head, "I need to talk to—where is Fugaku-san?" The chunin squad looked at each other for a moment before shaking their heads at her slowly, and at that, she went on tentatively naming names, horror and denial building up and up with her tears as the chunin just kept shaking their heads.

Taking pity on her, one of the grim faced guards cut off her hopeful stream of names, "We're not authorized to disclose any information to the public at the current time. Since you seem to be well acquainted with the clan, you could head over to intel—frankly, they could use the help. Personally, I'd suggest taking it up with Hokage-sama—"

She was off before he'd even had time to finish, rushing past the naturally crowded streets, haphazardly shoving others out of her way despite the obscenities and complaints aimed after her. Though the last two she'd pushed by followed after her on either flank, "Oi! _Nano_!" Kotetsu repeated as Izumo caught up on her right, "Where are you going in such a hurry? What's happened?"

They'd inevitably grown close as a team during the one month excursion to Suna. Though the two of them teased her incessantly, she'd become fond of the two older shinobi. They both had incredible teamwork skills, and together they passed the first and second rounds with flying colors. All in all, Nanoha had actually had _fun_ in Suna…if not for the inclusion of a giant sand tanuki crushing half the village during the one month preparation time before the final tournament. And yet, she contemplated the prospect of Suna possibly changing their village nindo to 'the show must go on,' because they'd _continued_ with the exams despite the horrific losses. She had to respect them for that.

But now…she shook her head, answering her teammate's query with the turmoil she felt inside, tears streaming down her face, "I don't know! Nothing makes sense—I don't…I don't understand why this is happening… I have to talk to Hokage-sama." She continued with several other garbled statements, but she made no effort to put them into an order that made sense. Her breathing was erratic, and she felt like she was about to experience a panic attack. Perhaps she already was. Exchanging a look, but making no move to hinder her, her teammates followed guardedly.

They followed her up the stairs as she ignored the secretary's protests, and she slammed the door to the head honcho's office open wide, interrupting an exchange between three men—which included the Jounin commander, Hokage-sama, and, surprisingly, Shimura Danzo. Nanoha chose to ignore them, dumping her bag—which she hadn't even taken time to drop off at her house—callously at the door and striding in without pause demanding in a severe commanding tone that sounded nothing like the usual Nanoha, "What the hell is going on? Why was I informed that everyone is dead? Is this some horrible joke?"

Captain Shikaku let out a long sigh, "I really wish it was…" Eying her hollow, horrified face, he ventured, "I take it you're Uzumaki Nanoha? You're needed down at intelligence—"

"_No_!" She shouted violently, reminding the man very eerily of his wife, "Not until someone explains to me _very_ carefully what is going on, so that I can understand it properly first! Where is everyone?!"

"At the coroner's." Came the abrupt voice of Danzo, "The entire Uchiha clan has been disposed of by Uchiha Itachi. There is nothing else to explain about the matter."

From the three newcomers, there were several reactions: Shock and anger, certainly, from Izumo and Kotetsu, who were grateful to the young jounin for helpfully supplying their team with a third member on such short notice, but from Nanoha…it was as if she were a puppet whose delicate strings had just snapped. The other two managed to catch her before she proceeded to fully collapse to her knees in shock, but she made no move to support herself.

"Get ahold of yourself, Nano!" It was Izumo's voice hissing in her ear that brought her out of her stupor, "You're a chunin now, act the part, _control_ your emotions. You're not a kid anymore."

"Hey, ease up a little…" Kotetsu admonished his more serious companion, then murmured more quietly, "That guy, Itachi…wasn't he Nano's…?" He trailed off as she suddenly burst into a noisy bout of tears. Thinking back, she wished she'd been a bit more elegant…but there really is no way to get used to it…losing the ones you love. All she could do was cry like a little child as she tried to understand the torrent of painful emotions that whirled within her at the events that were just solidifying as her current reality.

Seating himself behind his desk with a long sigh, Sarutobi rubbed at the stress lines on his forehead, at the headache he knew was coming, waved his hand at the trio, and motioned towards the seat in front of his desk, "Sit her down there. Everyone else, get out. I'll resolve this now." When no one moved he reiterated more sternly, "Out!" And it seemed to jar everyone back into motion. Izumo and Kotetsu deposited the distraught girl in the seat before the desk as instructed, and made their exit swiftly without so much as an awkward pat of comfort from either of them. Once the Hokage gives an order like that, you'd be stupid to ignore it, and with this in mind, the other two men took their leave as well, though the senior of the two seemed genuinely annoyed at being dismissed so curtly in favor of the newly minted chunin, and glanced at her curiously through squinted eyes as they passed.

Silence was once again established in the room aside from the noise coming from the girl in the chair in front of the desk. She'd hunched over with her face hidden in her hands, her body wracked with the tremors of quiet sobs, shaking her head with muttered denials. The third Hokage just looked on with sad eyes as he waited for her to calm herself, and when the tears finally stopped, and she straitened to face the old man, she asked hollowly in a strained voice, "…Where is Itachi?"

He looked at her over knitted fingers, "I don't know."

She closed her eyes, swallowed thickly as if teetering on the edge of tears again, and when she opened them once more, her voice was a whisper as she asked the million dollar question, "_Why_ would he do such a thing…?"

Again, though he paused before he answered, "…I don't know."

"Do you know _anything_?" She suddenly exploded, jumping to her feet and protesting, "You're the Hokage! You're supposed to know _everything_! Why? How could something like this _happen_? Tell me!"

He closed his eyes, answering once again, "I don't know."

It seemed to deflate her like a popped balloon and she collapsed back into the chair to bury her face in her hands once more, more out of frustration than actual sadness this time. She then looked up at him through narrowed golden eyes as the realization hit her, "You _always_ know more than you let on…You _do_ know something…you're just not telling me what it is."

He opened his eyes again and returned coolly, "I don't believe it's any of your business, Nanoha. I think it would be better for you if you left this matter to those in charge of the investigation. You're too emotionally involved. You need to remember that the Uchiha were not your famil—"

"They may as well have been!" Her voice broke as she stood up once again, her eyes burning with more tears, "Mikoto-san, Fugaku-san…" She choked out the next names with difficulty, "Sasuke-kun…Itachi…" She covered her face with her hands once more and trembled, "Everyone…they were the only ones I…and now…again…this happens…" She lowered herself once more into the chair as she lost momentum, turning the argument on herself, "I should've _known_… He…Itachi…he's been acting strange for weeks…he…" She stopped, letting her hands fall from her face, she stared at the floor, "I could've _done_ something. I should've _been_ here. I—"

"It's actually a good thing you weren't." The old man supplied in the same tone of voice, "You have a strong alibi, and so I see no need to bring you in for questioning, given your…close ties with the Uchiha. Congratulations on your chunin promotion, by the way. I'm sorry I couldn't have been there myself."

She didn't answer at first, but finally replied hollowly without looking, "I don't even care about that… To hell with rankings. To hell with all of it. None of it matters anymore."

There was silence once again in the circular office until Sarutobi broke it with, "Sasuke is still alive."

Her head jerked up almost quicker than he could register and she was suddenly leaning with both hands on the desk, "Where? Is he okay? Was he hurt? Where is he? Can I see him? Is he okay? I have to talk to him, I need—"

"If your meaning is, 'Is he safe?' Then yes. Is he okay? No. No he is not. From what we could gather, he witnessed almost the entire event." He shook his head slowly, as Nanoha's eyes widened with horror, "And I'm not sure if it would be advisable for either of you to see each other as you are now—not until you are calm and in control of yourself."

Immediately she reseated herself and folded her trembling fingers in her lap in an attempt to look proper, "Yes. I'm calm…I…I apologize. I…" She stared down at her lap, and then, thinking of Sasuke, she replied as evenly as she could manage, "I need some time to…think." She raised her head and asked quietly, with hope in her voice, "May I…see him afterwards? I…I got him some things while I was in Suna. Presents, you know? There was this handmade keychain for his backpack that caught my eye at an old lady's shop…and also a wind shuriken. It was really cool, and I thought I'd teach him how to use it… I almost got him a sword too, but Itachi would scold me for sure…" Silent tears dripped slowly down her cheeks and she wiped them away absentmindedly.

"Why is that?" The old man inquired softly, entertaining her ramblings with hidden interest.

Her lips trembled into a sad mockery of a smile, her eyes closing as new tears replaced the ones she wiped away, "He says that Sasuke-kun is going to get spoiled because of me…" Covering her eyes with one hand, she laughed humorlessly, shaking her head, "As I thought…I should've bought the sword, ne?"

The third's eyes were unreadable as he told her quietly, "Go home, Nanoha. Get some rest, and come back tomorrow around ten… I'll figure out what to do with you then."

"Yes…" She stood, her hands still folded in front of her, "I'll just go…do that then." She gave a shaky bow and turned on her heel, retrieving her heavy travel bag, and heading towards the door.

"Oh, and…you should probably know…" The old man mentioned surreptitiously, "he's already made his way through two foster homes. At this rate, I wager he'll be out of his third one by tomorrow evening at the latest. I really don't know what I'm going to do with him if he keeps it up…"

"Is that right…?" She inquired without turning, her voice bland and colorless, "It seems he's still just as energetic as usual…ne? I'm so glad…"

And with that, she was out the door, walking sluggishly as if in a trance. It was as if the people around her didn't exist. Some faces were familiar, but something in her brain just couldn't find the motivation to connect the images to their names. She was too focused on the rippling pain, the crippling tendrils of thorns worming their way into her chest from the seed that was planted there. And yet, she continued walking, unhindered. It was bewildering to her that one could feel so much pain and confusion yet still remain standing. And though everything had been explained, the confusion was still there, clouding her mind with acidic fumes until she felt lightheaded, like she was walking around in a sea of mist.

Managing to find her way home, she mechanically repeated the ingrained ritual of checking the mailbox. It was a much heavier haul than usual since she'd been gone for over a month. It seemed amazing that your entire world could be shattered in such a very short period of time. She dropped her bag carelessly on the floor when she entered, automatically stating a faint, "Tadaima…" Though, as usual, there was no one there to say 'welcome back.'

She barely looked through the mail as she kicked off her boots sloppily, scanning through bills, dropping them one by one onto the floor in a numb sort of fashion, and hummed absentmindedly as she flipped over a memo, "Looks like Uncle's coming for a visit soon… I hope he doesn't stay too long this time…" Eventually, finding nothing that would rid her of the fog surrounding her, she dropped the entire pile on the floor in front of her and stepped over them without much grace, sending some spinning out across the floor with her toe inadvertently as she headed down the hall to her room. She hadn't even bothered to turn any of the lights on…

Her room was just as dark as the rest of the house if not darker with only the faint twilight leaking in eerily through the veiled window over her bed, still sloppily made up from the last time she'd slept in it. The strong scent of dying spider lilies assaulted her from their modest vase on her nightstand. The brilliant red was fading, and the numerous, long, delicate stamen were in the process of falling off, one by one, as well as the curled, tiny petals. _He'd_ given them to her. She loved the color red.

Sitting down on the side of the bed, she picked up one of the only other items on her nightstand besides a lamp. The photo had been taken recently on the rare occasion that all three of them had time to spend with each other. She'd talked Sasuke into a contest of who could make the most ridiculous face. Nonoha had primarily imitated Fugaku, who she'd aptly named 'Mr. Funny Face' in her younger days, though Sasuke ultimately ended up winning, mostly due to creativity—part of which included gluing watermelon seeds all over his face, giving off the impression of a very mutated case of chicken pox. Needless to say, his mother was _not_ pleased…but Sasuke had insisted on documenting his hard earned achievement. No one could accuse the kid of not giving it his all, no matter what the situation. He'd used the red marks all over his face to his advantage the next day as an excuse to avoid all his female classmates.

But Nanoha was staring at the third face in the picture. Carelessly, her fingers having gone loose, the frame slipped from between them and collided with the wood paneled floor at her feet with a sharp shatter. The glass was broken, some of it splayed out across the floor and some still hanging in the frame. She automatically moved to pick it up, but jerked her hand back as she clumsily pricked her finger. She watched as a bead of beautifully red blood welled up from the cut and sluggishly dripped off the tip of her digit. One drop…two…she simply stared as they continued to drip right down onto the cracked glass in the picture frame…until all she could see was blood.

* * *

"They make me sick." He said quietly from across the table, staring angrily down at his lap, "I hate everything."

Nanoha took a long sip of her tea before setting it down without a sound and answered grimly, "I have to admit, sometimes I get that feeling too…" Her eyes flicked up from her cup and across the table towards him sadly, "But isn't hating _everything_ at once asking a little bit too much out of one person? Maybe you should try narrowing it down a little…ne?"

She heard his knuckles crackling just out of her line of sight beneath the table and his face took on an expression that she never knew he was capable of producing before their recent meetings. It was shadowed—a dark, curtailing anger that she could see burning in his eyes like embers. It turned him into someone she didn't know. Her own face took on a helplessly sad countenance as she thought to herself, '_kids aren't supposed to have eyes like that_…_it's not right…_'

"I hate _him_…" He finally grated out viciously, "I'll _kill_ him. I swear on my life."

Nanoha's expression went blank, professional as she presented the valid question, "That's all well and good…but how exactly do you plan on doing it?" By the faltering expression on his own face, it was obvious that he hadn't come up with a concrete plan yet and she answered for him, "I see…and I'm sure you've already realized that it's impossible at the current level of your capacity, ne?"

At the word 'capacity' his eyes went wide, and he stood, shouting, and drawing the stares of others around them in the tea shop, "Then I'll just get stronger! And I'll keep getting stronger until I'm strong enough to beat him!"

She showed no reaction to the outburst other than to finish draining her teacup and set it back on the table lightly, then she replied in an even tone, "I have no doubt in your resolve. You're one of the most determined kids I've ever met. I'm sure you'll succeed in whatever it is you want to do with your life, ne?" She tilted her head at him then, "…But will it make you happy?"

Her words of praise seemed to deflate him a bit as he realized she meant not to antagonize him, and dropped back in his chair albeit with a stormy expression still fixed in place, "…Yes."

"Why?" She persisted—her own expression was merely curious.

"You _know_ why…" He grumbled at her, "Stop asking me questions you already know the answers to. You're not acting like the usual Nee-chan…"

She sent him an ironic smile, returning with, "I could say the same thing about you…ne, Sasuke-kun…?" Her eyes were fixed intently on him in a way that would make most people feel unsettled, tilting her head to the side so that a few crimson strands of hair escaped the berets she had holding back her bangs, and they fell across her face, "Shall I tell you _why_…? About what I've been thinking of, non-stop?" It had been haunting her every night before she went to sleep, and followed her into every waking hour. Dark circles, similar to the ones under the boy's, ringed both her eyes in consequence. Neither of them had been getting much sleep lately.

He prompted her to continue with a wary anticipation, reiterating, "You're strange… You're acting like _him_…"

"Then you noticed it too, ne?" She questioned, unconsciously leaning into the table towards him, "You noticed how he wasn't acting right for _weeks_—it wasn't _natural_."

"_Everyone_ noticed…" Sasuke replied with a haunted sort of expression, "Inabi…Teka…and some other people too. He even skipped some clan meetings and… Shisui…they accused him of setting it up to look like a suicide…"

"_Shisui_? Suicide?!" Nanoha's eyes went wide in shock, shaking her head, "No way. Impossible. He'd never do it. But…no. _He_ wouldn't have done it either…" She went on, her mind racing, mumbling to herself and shooting the occasional question at Sasuke, "You say there were meetings? What meetings?"

He shook his head, his expression growing agitated, "Just regular clan stuff, I guess…I wasn't allowed to—why do you even need to know?"

"_Because_," She leaned even further towards him, her voice lowering so as not to be overheard by curious onlookers, "_think_ about it! _None_ of it is adding up! Listen, I know I'm not smart, ne? But even I know a puzzle when I see one. There's something more going on here behind the scenes. We just don't know what it is yet. Once we find the missing pieces, though…" Her lips formed a grim smirk, her eyes lighting up with determination, "We're going to find out _exactly_ what happened that night—the why's, the what's, and the how's…"

His face went dark once again and he growled out, "I already _know_ what happened…"

"Do you know _why_?" She prompted him, raising her brows expectantly.

It seemed to pain him to recall, and she almost felt a little guilty for making him recount such a thing, but Sasuke wasn't a kid anymore. That much was obvious. He'd been made to grow up too fast. Again she held thoughts of, '_it isn't right…_' But she was focused. It had evolved almost into an obsession overnight. She'd asked herself the very same question again and again in her head, '_Whywhywhywhywhywhywhy_—'

"He said it was to _test his capacity_…" He spit out the words like poison, and Nanoha froze—unblinkingly.

She was quiet for the longest time before she went on to say, "You know…when I first came to this village, I received a mean note from one of my classmates at the academy telling me to go die in a very interesting way…" the corner of her mouth quirked up in a bitter smile, "But I couldn't make out any of Ume-chan's awful handwriting, or read any of the kanji because I was so stupid…so I smiled because it was a little embarrassing, but I had to ask my neighbor to help read it to me… And…do you know what he told me it said?"

He scowled angrily, "What is the point of any of this—"

"My neighbor…was Itachi." He flinched at the name, "…And he told me the note was special shinobi code for, 'Everyone is very happy to meet you!'" She leaned her chin on her palm and stared across the table at Sasuke with knowing eyes, "If you're looking for a point in this story, I'll explain it to you simply in three words… _Itachi always lies_." She went on to explain, "_But_, he always does it for a reason… A lie to make a classmate feel better because he felt sorry for her…lies to protect you from the truth…because sometimes the truth is crueler than the lie…" Her voice came in earnest as she told the boy across from her, "I've known you both for…how long has it been…six, seven years now, ne? So, forgive me, but I'm conceited, and I like to think I know a thing or two about certain things…" Her eyes went steely, "There is a greater truth behind this. Mark my words." Then she tilted her head to the side as if entertaining an afterthought, "And if I'm wrong, and there _is_ no real answer…well…we can always go with _your_ plan and I'll show you how to destroy him in the most painful ways you could possibly imagine…" She added bitterly, "Truth or lies, lord knows he _deserves_ it either way… So, what is there left to lose, ne?"

He stared at her in silence for a moment as if just realizing the answer himself before shaking his head and answering quietly, "…Nothing. I have nothing."

"And that…" She told him quietly, her voice sobering, "is exactly my point…" Her eyes met his then, "But do you know what that makes you?"

He shook his head slowly, the fact still dawning on him.

"The most dangerous kind of person in the world…" They both sat quietly for a moment before Nanoha suddenly leaned forward and jabbed her finger at him, "But that doesn't give you an excuse to be reckless! Ne? You hear me?"

"Why not!?" His anger suddenly flared up again at her abrupt demanding attitude, "I'll do anything it takes to get stronger, even if it means risking my life—"

"Because if I lose you, I'll _die_." She pointed it out bluntly, then paused, and explained in a gentler tone, "So…with that said…please be healthy, and be sure to take care of yourself properly, ne? I'll be keeping tabs on you, so if you're pulling any stupid stunts, I _will_ find out about it… Nee-chan will be very upset with you, you know…"

His turbulent response seemed to fizz away like dispersing soda foam and he looked down at his lap again, "Yeah…I know."

After a pause, she reached over and ruffled his hair making it look even messier than it already was, "Ja, look what time it is! Kaori-san is going to have my head if I keep you any longer…"

He glared at her, straightening his hair back to its usual amount of messiness, and declared decisively, "I'm not going."

Nanoha raised a brow at him and replied contradicting, "Uh, yes you are. And if you don't like it, I'm sorry, but look at it this way: You have to have a permanent place of residence for _at least_ one month if you want to continue attending the academy, you know. Furthermore, you're not allowed to be alone. Doctor's orders, ne?"

"But she's a _civilian_." He said the word with irritation laced all through his voice, "She treats me like a stupid kid! And she makes me give up training to do _chores_! _And_, she thinks being around _you_ is dangerous so she never stops nagging!" He went on in the most words he'd spoken in a while, "And the _worst_, she goes on yapping and spitting out 'wise' words like she thinks she knows everything about everything and it makes me _sick_! I _hate_ it at Kaori's place!" His eyes turned pleading, "Why can't I just stay by myself? Or with _you_?"

Shock. '_Me_?' She pointed to herself in question, both brows raised in an expression of surprise. As she was stumped by the question, she had to clarify, "You…want to stay with _me_?"

He nodded once, stiffly, turning his face away as if to hide his expression. It seemed as if he hadn't wanted that last bit to come out, but it resonated within Nanoha's head like a ringing bell. Faintly, she had an answer planned out in her head, but all that came out was a laugh and, "Oh, don't be ridiculous! My place is a giant mess right now—broken glass and stuff everywhere, ne? You'd hate it."

He rounded with irritation on his face, "I don't care about—wait…broken glass? Did someone break in?"

"Eh? Oh, no… Ano…how should I explain this…?" She averted her eyes nervously, "Well, uh…sometimes, when Nee-chan is very upset…things…unfortunately get destroyed…" She blushed slightly in embarrassment, "I…haven't really had the time to clean up yet, you know…"

He crossed his arms, staring at her pointedly in a way that actually made her feel unsettled, "…Is that the only reason?"

"Well…I'm not really sure…" She twiddled with her fingers beneath the table, "I'm not exactly certain I'm capable enough to take care of a—" She cut herself off—he hated being called a kid—but the damage had already been done.

"Fine." He stood abruptly from the table, and stalked off towards the exit.

"N-ne! Sasuke-kun, wait!" She stood as well, slamming some coins down on the table with a hasty wave at the proprietor, and hurried off after her charge, "Slow down for a sec!" She caught up with him in the street and reached for his hand, "Listen—"

She froze as he slapped her hand away and shouted over his shoulder at her with those eyes that made him into a different person, "I don't need anyone's help! Just leave me alone!" Then he took off, weaving through the crowds and vanishing from her sight. She couldn't move, and the only thought that passed through her mind, '_Kids aren't supposed to have eyes like that…it's not right_…'

"…What am I supposed to do now?" She whispered and sighed helplessly as she stared down at the ground, "Have any bright ideas? Ne…Itachi?" She closed her eyes sadly, before turning back towards home, "I've got a huge mess to clean up now because of you, you know that…? I don't even know where to start picking up the pieces…" But a mess is like a puzzle…you just need to put all the pieces back in their proper place.

Arriving back at her house, she sighed as she took in the letters still left on the floor, the broken furniture and the dishes. With one more sigh, she supposed it was the place to start, and began by picking up the mail, envelop by envelop. She paused at the memo from Uncle and a faint scowl made its way onto her lips. The man wasn't even worth the energy it took to hate him. Instead, a bitter, permanent animosity had formed between the two of them. Though he was technically her benefactor, it was only in function. The very idea of him wishing for her _benefit_ was a sick joke… If it weren't for a certain third party intervention, Nanoha would be dead.

Uncle had long ceased the practice of bringing her fancy presents to win her over. Itachi had seen to that by effortlessly seeing through his intentions in a single meeting—something Nanoha had always been grateful for, even now. If it weren't for him, she'd still be nothing more than an unwitting pawn of the vicious politician that was Ootori Kosui. Now, the most the man could do was to keep her existence a secret. Nanoha didn't really care about his scheming as long as she didn't have to take any part in it. So she'd done as Itachi and the Uchiha police force had suggested and took advantage of the bribes they received, taking on her mother's name of Uzumaki. There was nothing else they could do, and she still had to endure the visits the foul man used to keep up appearances. In order to remain peacefully living on as she was, she would bear it quietly with grace.

Sighing once again, she dumped the swept up glass from plates she'd smashed out of the dust pan and into the trash. She finally regretted the temper tantrum she'd thrown. Though she'd left the debris from it untouched as a testament to the fact that her anger was justified, she'd finally wrote the actions off as her usual stupidity. The anger may well have been justified…but smashing things because of it was never the answer. Furthermore, Uncle would complain how filthy the place was on each visit and now that it actually _was_ filthy, she wondered if he'd have a heart attack. She considered halting her efforts of cleanliness for a split second, but thought better of it… She figured it was time to stop living like a slob and regain some _semblance_ of normalcy…otherwise she'd go insane.

She'd been trying to avoid thinking since she received the news, but it was impossible. So of course, she'd had a lot of thought about it. The theory she presented to Sasuke earlier at the tea shop was only one of these thoughts. But…she still wondered. Maybe…maybe there was nothing more to it. Maybe there really _were_ no answers. But the very thought plunged her into a dark world of horror, full of thorns, and her mind refused to accept it. There was an image of his smiling face—just like the one in the broken picture frame—and her very soul rejected the fact that…that he could do something so unspeakable for no better reason than _testing his capacity_. No action of his went without a deeper meaning. There _had_ to be a reason. But deep inside her head, a malicious voice whispered, '_There has to be a reason he left you without saying goodbye, ne? Because that would mean you really _are_ worthle_—'

She shook her head, canceling the train of thought before it could go any further. Head cleared, she turned to deposit a salvageable plate in the sink but let out an ungainly _shriek_ and just dropped it anyway upon seeing the visage of a ghostly mask out her window, falling backwards into a pile of her broken kitchen table in shock. Her mind instantly registered '_ANBU'_ a split second later, but the damage was already done. Her face went bright red. Once again, she'd made herself look like an incompetent idiot… She really didn't deserve that chunin vest in her closet…

She was glad she couldn't see the ANBU member's face when she opened the window awkwardly and asked in the most pleasant voice she could muster, "Yes? Is there something I can do for you ANBU-san?"

"Uzumaki Nanoha, do you have Uchiha Sasuke in your custody?" He asked robotically in a professional, no-nonsense voice.

The question immediately had her on edge. The fact that he was asking her this question meant that the location of the subject was unknown. The expression of horror on her face must've delivered her answer before her voice could, "You _lost_ him?" It must've been five octaves higher than normal.

She could practically sense the indignity coming off the senior shinobi and it resonated in his response, "Technically speaking, _you_ lost him. That is because _you_ are the last known individual to be seen with him."

"Does Hokage-sama know about this?" She shot the question at him, leaning out the window, causing him to lean back and drop from the sill to keep distance between them.

The dislike in his voice was evident, "I am to escort you to his office—"

"That's perfect." She hopped out the window as well, not bothering to shut it behind her, "Then let's stop wasting time and get to the bottom of this, ne?" She was trying to keep her poker face, but inside, fear and worry were eating her raw. But panicking was not something that she could do at the moment. They were off quickly and silently, the only sound produced from either of them being the tails of her scarf flapping behind her. Her mind raced. It had to be that time… She should've followed him. But she'd been too shocked by the changes in Sasuke. The realization had glued her to the spot. She never figured that…

"_You_!" Shimizu Kaori, a tall, matronly, dark haired woman in her forties was at Nanoha's throat the instant she entered the Hokage's office, "_You're_ behind this! I _know_ it's you! He didn't come home at the proper time, and I just _knew_ it from the start! Your presence has been a horrible influence—"

"Please stop talking about things that have nothing to do with the matter at hand." She cut her off in an uncharacteristically cold, corporate sounding voice, feeling an immense amount of dislike and impatience for the woman at the moment. She couldn't help thinking that maybe everything Sasuke had said about her was actually true… And it just got worse.

"How _dare_ you speak to me that way!?" She had to be stupid to actually attempt at striking out against a shinobi, but Kaori brought her hand down hard across Nanoha's cheek, her eyes gleaming with anger. Maybe it was because Nanoha really didn't look like much. A thirteen-year-old girl with a small stature of maybe a hundred and sixty-seven centimeters at most…Itachi had always called her 'cute.' Nanoha was by no means a fierce shinobi…but even _she_ needed to restrain herself from intercepting Kaori's wrist and snapping it like a twig in an instinctive act of retaliation. Instead she closed her eyes gently and let the sting of the slap spread across her reddening cheek as it came. It almost seemed to echo in the round room.

When there was no further shrill screaming coming from Kaori, Nanoha opened her eyes once more and continued to explain in a professional tone as if nothing had happened, "For all intents and purposes, Sasuke is the last living member of the Uchiha clan. The Uchiha clan possesses an extremely valuable kekki genkai—a doujutsu called the sharingan. Many of our enemies know of this, and no doubt the unfortunate loss of Sasuke-kun's family earlier in the month has been leaked to them. If Sasuke-kun is missing, it is possible that they may have taken advantage of Konoha's moment of weakness and used it as an opportunity to kidnap Sasuke for his precious eyes. Therefore, speaking about such frivolous things and taking your frustrations out on me are simply wasting the time that we could be using to search for him. I mean you no disrespect, Miss, but would you please kindly step aside and allow me to do my job without any further obstructions?"

The woman stared at Nanoha in horror as the extent of the situation sunk in, questioning faintly, "His…his eyes? They'll take his eyes?"

"Kaori-san, perhaps it would be best if you were to wait in the lobby while this situation is resolved. I'll have someone bring you some coffee…" The old man behind the desk motioned to the ANBU who wordlessly went to guide the distraught Miss Kaori out of the room past Nanoha, and closed the door behind them. His attention was then fixed on the girl before him, "Obviously you've caught up with the state of affairs without me having to explain it to you. That's good. It seems you've earned your rank after all. Though your tact with civilians could use some work…"

"I was trying to be professional…" She replied glumly, feeling undeserving of the praise.

"In any case, I've ruled you out as a suspect. I'm sure you have nothing to do with Sasuke's sudden disappearance—"

"You're wrong. It's my fault." She closed her eyes in shame, "We had a disagreement. He's still upset with his housing arrangement. He was angry with me for telling him to go back, and ran off… I didn't follow him because…" She shook her head, dropping the subject abruptly and moving on, "Kidnapping would be…one of the worst case scenarios…and I'm ninety percent sure this is not it. It's simply my mistake… I will not make it again. I already have a good idea where he went…so, with your permission, I would prefer to search for him on my own, Hokage-sama…" She bowed respectfully with her request.

"I see…if that is the case, I'll allow it." He observed her from over his laced fingers sagely, "However, I'm curious… What exactly was this argument about?"

She frowned, somewhat reluctant to think about it herself, and she replied quietly, "He…wants to stay with me, instead of Kaori-san." She shook her head, "But, of course, I told him it's impossible. It would be…improper for me to be taking care of a child at my age, wouldn't it?"

"And you dislike the idea?" He raised a brow calculatingly at her, and she balked a bit at the question, unsure of how to answer it.

Finally, overcome with an emotion she couldn't quite name, she replied truthfully, "I love Sasuke-kun. He's all I have left. Of course I want to take care of him in any way I can. I'll protect him with my life."

"I see…" The old man said again thoughtfully, "if that's the case, I'll allow it."

Her eyes opened wide, "What?"

"He's already been through six foster homes in one month." He sighed, "I'm beginning to run out of options…and he obviously likes you. Moreover, I think he trusts you, and that's something he direly needs in this sort of situation."

She couldn't help narrowing her eyes at his easy tone, "You act like 'this sort of situation' is an everyday occurrence…"

"It's more common than you might think." He told her, pointing out, "You're the same, after all."

Her eyes fell to the ground, "This and that are two entirely different issues…"

"But the end result is still the same." He concluded, "Someone inevitably ends up sad, angry, and/or alone. Three variables, that when mixed together, do not bode well in most cases…" His face was unreadable, "Whatever your ultimate decision is, Nanoha, I would suggest you find him quickly."

She bowed respectfully—the conversation clearly over—with the confirmation, "Understood," before forgoing the use of the door and leaping out the window instead, taking to the roofs. She knew exactly where Sasuke would go. She'd found her own feet leading her there unconsciously more than a few times over the past month, to which she would realize her mistake half way through and spin abruptly on her heal in the opposite direction. After all, where do you go when you're upset, and you need a place to think?

She always loved the nights better than the days in Konoha. The night air smelled different from that of the day—cooler, yes, but still warm, resembling a blanket that wrapped around you like a warm embrace. It was different now that she had no one to share it with… She cursed herself for it. She hated herself. But she still cried almost every night. Not for Mikoto, not for Fugaku, not for Shisui, not even for Sasuke…but because she missed _him_—the one who caused all of it, and left her alone to deal with the pain and aftermath without even a 'goodbye'… She cried because he was gone, and despite everything she had loved him, and now that love was gone too, just like that red balloon that had floated softly away into the night sky which seemed so long ago, and so far away now…Thinking back on it…she'd already known it was over, even before any of it happened, before anything even started, she'd known they would eventually have to part…she just wished it hadn't ended like this.

"Halt!" One of the chunin guards moved to intercept her, "If you have no authorization—"

"Hokage-sama's orders." She spoke in clipped sentences, still in a hurry, "You have questions, take it up with him. As for me, I've already had enough delays, so if I could just—"

"I'm sorry, but—"

"This person is to be given clearance to enter the restricted zone." A figure ghosted beside her, "That is because it is Hokage-sama's will."

"Ah, ANBU-san," The nameless chunin's eyes widened, "of course." Then nodded to Nanoha, "Sorry for the extra delay."

Annoyed, she ignored both parties with a sigh and moved on with quick strides. She was even more annoyed when the ANBU kept pace with her, it was the same one from before, "So he sent you after all, ne…? What's your name?" No answer, to which she continued without pause, "Oh, right, classified. I forgot… Though…from the way you act and the way you talk, although I haven't seen you fight, I'd presume you're from the Aburame clan, hmm?"

"…You're very perceptive." Was the only thing he said.

"Not at all." She offered a wry, sad smile, "I was on a genin team with Aburame Kido, if that name means anything to you. I got used to the way she was. You remind me of her a little. She didn't like me very much either, you know."

She was surprised when he answered, "I already knew all of that before I met you... That is because Kido was my younger sister."

She stopped dead in the middle of the road as he walked on, "I'm…so sorry."

"I do not understand why these are the words that are always said when speaking of dead family members. That is because I have three more sisters at home, and there is nothing to be sorry for." He looked back at her out of the black slits in his butterfly mask—or it could've been a moth. Nanoha was never sure with ANBU masks…

She frowned at him, catching up and directing them down a shortcut past the pond with the dock, "That may be…but even so…there's no one that could replace Kido. Believe me. I've tried." She sighed, "Once you lose someone…there's nothing that can bring them back to you no matter _how_ hard you try…"

"You are strange…Uzumaki Nanoha." He noted, "…That is because you speak as if you have experience in such things."

"Oh…yeah…" She tried to ignore the bloodstains that hadn't managed to be cleaned up yet, "I guess you could say that…"

They passed the pond in silence. It was a well-worn path. It was the one Sasuke took every day to get to the academy quickly. Technically, it wasn't really part of the Uchiha compound, but it was large, almost the size of a small lake, and it overlapped with the rest of the village in some parts. She wondered if people from across the pond that night had heard screaming… But she thought Itachi was better than that. Knowing him, no one would have _time_ to scream at all… The direction of her thoughts sent a shiver down her spine.

She could smell death everywhere the closer they got to the main house. There was a certain…_chemical_ smell to it that didn't wash out. That's why hospitals always smelled disgustingly like antiseptic, and they only used more chemicals to cover it up. That's why you could tell who the _real_ professional killers were, because once you bathe yourself in blood a few good times, the smell never comes off. Eventually, if they lived long enough, all shinobi wore the scent of death like a second skin. Kido's Nii-san reeked of it, and she remembered _his_ being like that too, but underneath that was the same, familiar, scent she'd always known—before he'd been promoted to ANBU; a comforting mix of sunshine, and wood smoke. It was one of the things she couldn't forget.

Kido's Nii-san followed her as she scaled the roof of the main house soundlessly, dropping into the courtyard just as quietly. They moved in a similar, noiseless fashion down the outer walkway, into the house, until she stopped before a doorway holding up a cautioning hand, and used a careful finger to slide the door open just a crack. Relief pooled in her chest at the sight of his back facing them, and she waved her partner over to confirm. With a nod, Kido's Nii-san disappeared in a swirl of leaves to go report to the old man. Nanoha made a note to work on her shunshin the next time she got a chance to train. But it just reminded her of Shisui…and thinking of Shisui made her sad and confused. But that was most things these days…

Hesitating slightly, she tapped on the door lightly with her gloved knuckles, and inquired politely in a soft voice, "Ne, ne…is it okay if I come in?" No answer. She slid the door open a little wider, slipped through, quietly sliding it shut behind her, tiptoed across the room, dodging nimbly around forgotten toy shuriken, and finally knelt by the side of his bed. She then proceeded to fold her arms and prop her chin upon them, carefully observing the boy with bright, perceptive eyes. Breathing was off, "I can tell you're not asleep, you know… You're trying way too hard." He stopped breathing all together for a second before resuming in a much more believable semblance of sleep, "Better. But I already know you're awake, so there's not really too much of a point in pretending anymore, you know…" Again, no answer. It was almost as if he thought if he were to hold his bluff long enough maybe she'd cave in and go away. But she knew it was probably because he was just waiting for her to say something, since it wasn't like he could just get rid of her. Finally, she apologized in a soft voice, "I'm sorry for being a Poophead…"

When he eventually replied, it was to agree with her, "You _are_ a Poophead… I don't like you. Go away."

"Yeah…sometimes I don't like me either. That's even worse than _you_ not liking me, because unlike you, I can't just tell myself to 'go eat dog crap' and then storm off." She couldn't help but smile sadly, whispering, "You can never run away from yourself, you know…"

He didn't move, his back still facing her. She almost thought he wasn't going to answer when he told her quietly in a childishly petulant tone, "…I didn't tell you to _go eat dog crap_."

The corner of her mouth curled up in amusement, "You were totally thinking it."

He leaned on one elbow and glared over his shoulder at her, "I did _not_!"

She shrugged, teasing him, "So maybe I was a few words off?"

He faced the wall again, not looking at her and resumed his stony silence until he finally asked her, "You're here to take me back to Kaori's place?" His voice was glum and sounded more like a statement than a question. He sounded so depressed that it pulled at her heartstrings. At that, she argued with herself for a moment, but her ultimate decision had already been premeditated by several factors outside her control. She somewhat resented the old man for springing this one on her…

"Well…I was thinking, since…you know, my place is still a disaster zone and everything…maybe I could stay here with you? Just for tonight?" She started tentatively, "I also wanted to talk to you about something important…"

"…" He hesitated for a moment before asking, "What is it?"

Smiling at successfully piquing his interest she lifted up the covers and slid into bed beside him, "Scootch over for a sec, ne? Then I'll tell you." He didn't seem all too comfortable with the idea, but relented some of his limited space, still with his back stubbornly facing her, silently prompting her to continue. Once settled in, she asked him, "What do you know about money?"

Seemingly dubious to the relevance of the question, he answered scathingly, "It _buys_ things…?"

The bluntness in his response made her laugh a little, "Well, that's true, but you know…a person can only make so much with a D-rank mission salary like mine… If you come and stay with me, I might not be able to buy you lots of nice presents anymore…or treat you for yakiniku and stuff all the time…though since I just became chunin, I might be able to swing it with a C or even a B-rank mission every now and then if I work hard…but—"

"What exactly are you saying?" He suddenly interrupted, having gone completely still. She wasn't even sure if he was breathing.

Finally, after a silence, she smiled softly, "Well…I guess I'm saying if you can deal with a little less luxury than you're used to…then you don't have to go back to Kaori-san's place if you don't want to…" She continued with a sudden feeling of uncertainty at his silence, "I mean…It'll be a pretty humble existence, but I think I might be able to—"

"I don't have to go back?" He cut her off once again. The hope in his voice was almost painful, "…I can stay with you?"

"…Yeah." She felt an inexplicable warmth bloom in her chest, and reached out to pat down his messy hair, "Yeah, you can stay with—" Before she could even finish her sentence she felt two little arms wrapped tight around her waist. With his eyes shut tight and his face buried against her collar bone, it seemed as if he had finally turned to face her. There were no more words, and she just stroked his hair down in a patient, rhythmic motion, as if doing so would somehow make it stay flat and stop poking her in the face.

For a brief moment, she wondered not for the first time if she was getting in over her head with this…but it was already too late for that. Thinking back on it, she thought she was probably doomed from the start. Still…if she could go back and do it all over again, she would've. She regretted none of her actions. In fact, she was grateful. She was grateful for the warm memories she had made in the house that now smelled like death. She was grateful to have met the people who lived there. But more than anything, she was grateful to _Itachi_… In fact, her chest was full of so much gratitude that it ached.

Because Kido's nii-san had been right, and so had the old man. Nanoha, of all people knew what it was like to lose everything…but not this time. Everything was not lost. Because even though he had brought darkness to her world, he'd also given her light. Deliberately or not, Itachi had left her one last parting gift…and it was right there in her arms. Realizing this, she made a promise, holding the boy tighter, '_From now on, I will do my best to make every day of yours happy and full of laughter_. _I'll become stronger, and protect that smile with both of my hands until they become useless—until I can't fight anymore… And one day, all three of us will be laughing together again…that is my dream._' In her mind's eye was the broken picture frame, still lying on the floor of her room, covered in the drops of her blood, but she thought to herself willfully, '_It will _never_ be broken. I haven't lost everything just yet…not yet._'

With that thought, she closed her eyes and stowed her determination away to reflect upon at another time. She'd also wanted to reprimand Sasuke for his actions, since running away without telling anyone where he was going was most definitely something Nanoha categorized under 'stupid stunts' in her book. However, she didn't think it was the best time to bring up how serious his situation was. She'd let the matter rest for the moment, because it looked like he was finally getting some sleep for once…which was ironic, being that he was in the very place most of his nightmares probably brought him to. Nanoha remained awake for a very long time, until she even heard the early birds that signaled the coming morning chirping through the open window where Sasuke had stuck the pinwheel she'd got him from the festival, thinking pensively of how things were going to be from that time on. She certainly had her work cut out for her…

In the end, typically, she couldn't find sleep in such a place and took to watching the pale, morning sunlight slowly creeping into the bedroom. When she couldn't sit still any longer, she gently pried the boy's arms from around her waist and searched around the room. Eventually, she found a traveling bag in the closet, and proceeded to pack his clothes. He hated the ones Kaori had picked out for him—actually, Nanoha suspected he hated everything Kaori did. She couldn't say he wasn't entirely justified in it—Kaori was painfully overbearing at times—but Nanoha couldn't find it in her to hate the woman. She honestly cared for Sasuke after all, and must've understood him on at least _some_ level to have lasted longer than a week, and _still_ retain the ability _to_ care about him at all. It seemed he'd taken a certain amount of pleasure in torturing the members of his foster care homes. She sighed, shaking her head, thinking there _may_ just have been some validity in Itachi's endless warnings about spoiling the boy… '_Too late _now_…_' Said the dubious voice in her head.

Behind her he stirred and sat up, still bleary eyed from what must've been the first full night of sleep in a long time. Thinking of her earlier resolve, she aimed a beaming smile over her shoulder at him, chirping almost as cheerfully as the birds outside, "Good morning!" Hopefully it would rub off on him.

He stared at her blankly for a moment, still half asleep, "Nee-chan…why are you in my room?"

It had happened to her many times before, waking up in bed empty headed—yesterday being a far off, half-remembered dream. She'd once woken up on a Sunday and the first thing she'd done was run to find Itachi and ask him with none too little embarrassment if he'd _really_ agreed the day before to be her boyfriend and it hadn't been just a dream; though if her confession hadn't been clear the day before, it certainly was then… Far more recently, she'd woken up in her bed the day after she'd received the news, and it was only the broken picture frame on the floor of her bedroom that had confirmed the reality of the nightmare…

She looked at him sadly for a split second, but tried to keep up her cheerful façade and smiled, "Hey! Hurry and wake up already, Sleepy Head! Go get anything you want to take with you. We wanna get going soon, ne? The old man's going to have my head for reporting back so late. We gotta tell 'em the news, you know." She didn't want to see his face when the realization dawned on him, so she looked away, and resumed packing his clothes.

He said nothing as he slid out of bed and padded past her towards the door. When he came back about ten minutes later, his arms were almost overflowing with scrolls, and he dropped them in front of her, "I want to learn all of these."

Raising both her brows, she went over a few of them quickly, and said, "Oh, I know these. These are from…ah. I see." They were from Itachi's room, "Yeah…I already know a couple of these, so I can teach you. But for the rest of them you might be on your own… Now, how are we going to fit all of these in this bag, ne?" There was no way they were going in the travel bag; it was already close to busting at the seams with all the clothes she'd folded and shoved in. Sighing, she reached back into her hip pack, "I guess there's no helping it…"

His eyes locked onto the blank, square shaped paper, and he questioned her abruptly, "You're going to make a seal?" He then went on to ask, "Can you teach me that too?"

She raised her brows again in surprise, then grinned, "Yeah, I guess so! But it'll take a while. If you make even one mistake, it'll be a dud…or worse. Remember what happened _last time_?" They both winced at the memory. But then she shook her head, and hummed thoughtfully, "Hmmm…but I suppose you could help me with this one, ne? Standard storage seals are easy, but that's no fun, and these scrolls are really important. I want to make one that will lock out everyone but a specific person. It works by chakra recognition, so the only ones who will be allowed to use it are me, and someone I choose. For that, I'll need your chakra, 'kay?"

He nodded and replied, reaching for the blank seal, "So I just channel my chakra into it? Like the leaf sticking exercise at the academy?"

She held the rectangle out of reach, one finger held up for pause, "Not so fast. First thing you have to remember with seals is that most of them…" She grinned evilly and finished with a dramatic ghost story voice, "_have an endless thirst for blood_!"

He gave her a blank look, and then the eight-year-old told her flatly, "You're an idiot, Nee-chan."

She shrugged, "Hey, it's true. If you learn summoning, it works that way too. Now stop being a brat, and gimme your thumb."

"Ouch!" He jerked his thumb back and glared at her as if she purposely bit it to offend him.

She rolled her eyes, biting her own seal abused thumb, "Don't be such a baby. I do this all the time." She held out one end of the seal, "Okay, now, on my count of three, give it a steady flow of chakra—not too much now, since I'll be supplying the power for the seal myself. It just needs to learn your signature so it'll recognize you in the future, ne?"

Stowing his irritation for the moment he grabbed the end she directed at him with his bleeding thumb, centered squarely on the surface, and grumbled, "Okay. Let's do it."

"One…" She started slowly and carefully, since the timing was imperative, "Two…" She made a seal with her left hand, focusing her chakra, and Sasuke mirrored her observantly, "Aaaand…_three_!" Archaic symbols spidered out across the chakra imbued seal, guided by her chakra, and she used a mixture of it along with the bits of Sasuke's that were already in her reach to form 'the lock.' She carefully supervised the symbols until they formed the usual swirl in the middle of the seal, then ordered, "Okay, that should be enough."

"That's it?" He inquired curiously as she looked over their handiwork, and then she smiled.

"Not bad, not bad…" She commended him, "This lock should last for about five years before we need to move the scrolls and make another one. So far, I've never had these kinds of storage seals broken into before, so your scrolls should be safe and sound. I'd also say there's room for about twenty more of them, so you'll be able to compensate for the extra ones you pick up along the way." She handed the seal to him but jerked it back before his fingers could reach it and cautioned with her eyes narrowed, "Keep it in a safe place, avoid getting it wet, and for the love of all that is holy, do _not_ lose it."

"I _won't_." He scowled and grabbed the seal away from her, beginning to seal up the scrolls one by one.

'_Typical_.' She smiled, '_One never says goodbye, and the other one never says thank you._' They packed up the rest of the essentials quickly after that and left the house quietly. Nanoha tried to steer him down the streets that had already been cleaned up, and when there was no other alternative, she distracted him with cheerful banter. She had to ask though, as she waved at the tired guard who'd let her in the night before, "How exactly did you get in here with the chunin guards anyway?"

He sent her a look and returned, "How did _you_ get in?"

She grinned, agreeing, "Good point." Then hoisted the heavy travel bag over her shoulder a little more, "Let's go drop this off at my place before we go report, ne? Since we're already close by…" Nanoha's house was actually located on the other side of Naka pond, and when they got there, walking upon the path that wrapped around the small lake, she took in the glum look on the boy's face, getting an idea, and asked him, "Ja…wanna do something really fun?"

His eyes were immediately suspicious, "No way in he—"

"Too late! Too late!" She laughed, grabbing his hand and jerking him after her at a dead sprint towards the water. She'd learned water walking a few months ago, and figured he'd get a kick out of it, even if he couldn't do it at first, "Put your chakra in your feet! Your feet!" He barely had a chance to comply when they hit the water, and even though he sunk a bit, they were moving too fast to sink all the way, and Nanoha was compensating for him with her own chakra—it was like the basilisk lizard theory, "Don't stop running, or you'll fall in!"

"You're _crazy_!" He shouted at her.

She grinned manically and laughed, "Keep concentrating, you'll be fine!"

"I'm sinking!" He shot back, the first signs of panic starting to work its way into his voice.

"Then let's go _faster_!" She grinned even wider and put on another burst of speed. Nanoha loved running—sprinting to be exact. The burn that went through the muscles and her lungs was exhilarating, and if she went fast enough, with the wind ripping against her cheeks and freeing her hair from where her scarf choked the strands in around her neck, she could almost imagine she was flying.

In the excitement, she even forgot to change the distribution of her chakra when they hit the other bank of the lake and it caused her to go flying, with Sasuke in tow. Luckily she was able to use her body to break his fall, landing on her back on the rocky shore with him landing on her ribcage with no little impact. There was a silence as they both sat there in the unmoving heap they formed, the only interruption being their panting from the sudden exhilaration until Sasuke started laughing. Nanoha followed suit, until they were both roaring where they lay sprawled on the shore of the lake.

When she finally sat up, rubbing her ribs—sore for multiple reasons—gasping for breath between laughs, she got a sight of Sasuke's face, and for a moment, it was as if nothing had ever happened. There was no death in his world, no sorrow, or danger—just laughter and happiness, and nothing could ever change that. This smile—this world—was the one she wanted to protect. She would do anything to save it from fading away.

"That was _awesome_!" He laughed, and sat up as well, "Teach me! Let's do it again! Again!"

"Next time, next time!" She grinned back, standing and pulling him up, then folding one arm around her aching ribs, squinting one eye in pain, "By the way, I think you need to lose some weight, ne, Sasuke-kun? One of my ribs feels like it bent the wrong way back there…"

"I'm not fat." He pouted at her, "You're just old."

Her eyes widened, "Hey! I'm only thirteen, you brat!"

"That's still pretty old." He argued seriously.

"I'm only five years older than you are, you know!" She protested, gesturing wildly at him with her arms, the pointing out, "Going by your profound logic, you're already middle aged! What are we going by here, dog years?"

"There's this guy in my class who says nin-ken age differently than normal dogs." He added informatively.

"That's beside the point—" She began to retort, but stopped herself short, shaking her head then asking rhetorically, "Why am I even _debating_ with you about this? Let's go! I'm already going to get yelled at for being late, you know…"

"Whose fault is that?" He crossed his arms petulantly.

"Fine. You win." She rolled her eyes, "Satisfied?"

"Yes."

"Ungrateful, little dweeb…" She grumbled under her breath, turning to walk up the bank to the path without waiting to see if he'd follow, "Cheeky brat…" She was, however, surprised when she felt a much smaller hand slide into the natural curl of her fingers and held on firmly. She couldn't help but turn to grin at him cheerfully as she hoisted his bag up over her shoulder a little more securely , "Let's go drop this off. I swear, you've got more clothes than _me_. And I'm a _girl_."

"I knew there was always something strange about you." He remarked, then pointed out, "Girls are crazy."

She snickered a little at that, "No arguments there…" But she thought to herself with amusement, '_Sooner or later you'll find out that we're all like that because of guys like _you… _I bet you're going to be a heartbreaker when you grow up, ne_,_ Sasuke-kun_? _It'll troublesome, but for some reason, I can't wait to see the day when you become an adult…_'

They entered through the back yard because half way there, she realized she'd left her keys in the house. Thank goodness the window was still open as she'd left it and she shoved Sasuke's bag through it, then looked at the boy himself, "Okay, I'll give you a leg up—" But he'd already jumped up and was pulling himself through the window like he'd been breaking into other people's houses since the day he learned to walk. She was a little proud. "Sorry for the mess!" She called after him, "You can dump your stuff in the room down the hall!"

She received no answer, and when she hauled herself up and into her kitchen it was to be presented with Sasuke facing a cross looking man, sitting in the only functioning chair left in the room. He turned to send her a look over his shoulder and pointed, "Nee-chan, who is that?"

"…Who indeed." The imposing man stood to his full height and leaned against the marble counter top, drumming his unusually long fingernails against it rhythmically. He wore expensive looking clothes, and sported a trimmed and primed black goatee dotted with silver here and there upon his severe features. His mouth was set into a frown, his steely eyes cold and hard; pieces of unfeeling gold.

"Oh," Nanoha slipped forward, unconsciously pushing Sasuke behind her, her voice curt and carefully controlled, "hello, Uncle… I wasn't expecting you for another week…"

"…Evidently not." His eyes slid over the sorry state of the room dourly from their slightly sunken sockets, then back to survey her with just as much distaste, "I pay for this dwelling of yours out of my own pocket, Nanoha, I'd expect at the very least you'd keep it well looked after… It's _disgraceful_… Though I suppose I should expect no less from someone of your low birth…"

She felt Sasuke tense behind her and push away the hand that was attempting to push him further behind her, "Hey! You can't—"

"Sasuke." Nanoha cut him off, surprising him by speaking his name seriously without the use of her fond honorific for him, "Please take your things to the room down the hall. I believe I have some grownup things to discuss with Uncle right now." Which was essentially Sasuke code for, '_Leave the room with this excuse, then hide at the door and eavesdrop._' He glared at them both before grabbing his bag and stomping towards the hall, kicking pieces of destroyed furniture out of his way temperamentally as he went.

Nanoha sighed as she watched him go before her eyes flicked to her Uncle's and she asked quietly, "I'd appreciate it if you'd get straight to the point this time and tell me what you require of me…"

"Now…is that any way to speak to your own flesh and blood?" He finally stopped the infernal tapping of his fingernails and pushed away from the counter to walk towards her.

She tried to keep herself loose and controlled, but couldn't help wanting to crouch into a battle stance in front of the man. Though he had all the strength of a frankly less than average physiqued civilian male, the man exuded the feeling of 'danger' like a constant, poisonous shroud wherever he went. She thought it might have had something to do with intent…which wasn't powerful enough to manifest as a shinobi's sometimes did, but was certainly _foul_ enough to make a lasting impression on someone who was sensitive to those kinds of things.

His eyes traveled up and down her form as he circled around her, "It seems you've grown nicely since the last time we met…" He stopped before her again after one revolution, standing closer then, and reached forward to turn her chin this way and that, examining her face for what seemed to be flaws, "My brother had questionable preferences in many areas…but it seems his taste in _whores_ was even more ambitious than his political career…"

She wanted more than anything to recoil from the touch that made her skin want to crawl, but remained stubbornly calm and collected, refusing to blink away from the similar golden eyes that were _nothing_ like her father's, and spoke quietly with ice in her voice, "Dear Uncle…if you knew anywhere _near_ the amount of information about the shinobi of this country as you so often claim to…you'd know very well that my mother was no common whore…"

"Ah, perhaps not…but I _do_ know a great deal about the goings on of this wretched little village…" His mouth stretched into a nasty grin, "After all, this is the home of my dearest niece. I want to make sure you're _safe_, and _well cared for_. Speaking of which, how _is_ the Uchiha clan faring these days?"

Nanoha's lips trembled with the hateful words she wanted to scream at the man. It was as if he were _gloating_ over the death of the Uchiha police force who'd given him so much trouble all those years ago. After all, with them out of the picture, Uncle's schemes could only go smoother. He wouldn't have to _bribe_ them every year to keep quiet about the scandal he'd found himself in not too long ago…

The dismay must've shown on her face because the man pulled a voice of fake sympathy and remarked, "Oh, how pitiful you look, dear, Sweet Thing… You must have been so _devastated_… It's almost like losing your parents all over again, isn't it?" She pursed her lips tightly in a straight line, but couldn't control the tears that welled in her eyes and the drops that spilled onto her cheeks at the words that ripped into her like kunai stabbing through her skin. The thorns were back, and wrapping around her heart tightly, choking her insides. "Now, now, don't cry. Uncle is here… Tears only will ruin your lovely face…" It took all of her will power not to slap the vile man's hand away as he wiped her expressionless face of tears, "This place is clearly no longer safe for you, my Dear, so I've already taken the liberty of having you moved elsewhere to a more…_secure_ home, where I can keep a closer eye on you."

"No." She took a step back, her face transformed into one of consternation, "_This_ is my home. I will stay _here_."

There was a flash of frustration on his face before he masked it quickly and questioned her incredulously, "You would stay _here_? With vicious clans of monsters that want nothing more than to destroy each other? Nanoha, those people weren't your family, they were all a bunch of murderers, _everyone_ in this infernal village—"

"_So are you_!" She finally snapped, her throat raw with her poisonous ejection. And it didn't stop there, "Do you know how badly I wish to say that I belong to _their_ family and not to yours, _ne_? They _protected_ me! They were more of a family than you and your politics _ever_ will be, so I will _honor_ them and protect what is left! Do you even _know_ what honor is? Hmm?"

"And what_ honor_ is there in staying in this godforsaken place? What is left for you here?" He finally dropped his façade, scowling openly with disgust, "Power, money? That _boy_?"

"That _boy_…is called Uchiha Sasuke." She grated out, "And if you even _think_ about touching a hair on his head, I swear it, Uncle, I won't think _twice_ about killing you where you stand…"

"You? Ha!" He mocked her, "You're nothing but a foolish child! And you want to raise that Uchiha brat? Don't be ridiculous! I won't allow such a disgraceful thing to transpire!"

"…I'm sorry, but I wasn't aware that I was required to answer to your authority, Uncle." She seethed, her anger mounting dangerously, "What I do is no concern of yours, as long as I keep quiet—you've always made that very clear."

"Ungrateful _swine_…" The man hissed, then gestured widely at the house, "I've supported you all these years, and _this_ is how you repay me? Defiance? Unacceptable!" He then ordered firmly, "You will cease this absurd notion of becoming a shinobi at once, there will be no _children_ raising children under this roof that I have provided for you—or _any_ roof for that matter—and you will leave this place with me for the safe house immediately…or I shall take measures of my own to _assure_ that you will remain _silent_. You, of all people, know _exactly_ what I am capable of…"

She was about to retort viciously when the door to the kitchen slid open loudly to reveal an irate looking Sasuke. His expression was pained as if confronted with an offensive odor as his dark eyes fixed on the robed man and spoke words that cut Nanoha off before she could begin to order him back to his room, "If she goes with you, she'll be safe?"

There was a glint, in old man Kosui's eyes as he took in the eight-year-old and his voice took on that same sickly sweet tone he'd once used on _her_ when she'd been around Sasuke's age, "Why yes, of course… Nothing matters more to me than my lovely niece's safety… I can assure you, she'd be well taken care of under my watch."

Sasuke's eyes flicked from the unfamiliar man to Nanoha and narrowed once before tempering and lowering to the kitchen floor in what seemed to be utter disappointment. What came next made Nanoha stop grinding her teeth and stare at the boy in utter shock as he spoke the words softly, "…Then just go. I don't want to see you again."

It almost made her stomach flip, when a sudden flag went up in her head that told her something was not right. With the way her Uncle's grin curled up nastily she could almost be certain that whatever 'safe house' he had in mind was more than likely a death trap…or someplace equally unpleasant. It was one of those, doomed if you do, doomed if you don't situations. Uncle was manipulating Sasuke's feelings in order to influence _hers_. A low blow…even for him.

Nearly shaking with anger, she pushed past both of them without a word, down the hall, and into her room at the end of it. She grabbed the old dingy trunk she'd used to bring her belongings to Konoha in the first place and began throwing her things into it quickly, and haphazardly, fury radiating off of her in waves. Laptop, boombox, picture frames—including the broken one—the quilt and pillow from her bed, a few stuffed animals, all her clothes and shinobi gear; she paused when she came to her chunin vest and strapped it on securely. She then proceeded to empty her bathroom of all her toiletries and feminine products she'd accumulated over the years, dumping them in the trunk, and finally sitting on the lid to squeeze everything in enough to hook the latch shut with a sticky seal; it was one of many pasted on the trunk for protection of possessions. Everything that wasn't in the trunk, she left behind, dragging the heavy box after her with an uncharacteristic scowl set upon her face.

"Ah…I see you've come to your sense—"

"Get out of the way." She shouldered past the man and stalked towards Sasuke, tossed him his bag, then grabbed his other hand in a vise-like grip, and tugged him after her despite the protests. She then shot back over her shoulder at her uncle menacingly, "You have no power over me. Give me everything you've got. Do your worst. I want _nothing_ from you. And _you_…" She looked at Sasuke sternly as they left the man behind without another glance, walked out the door, and she said her next words slowly, conviction ringing in each one, "I will never, _ever_, abandon you. No matter what happens. Do you understand me? We're in this together. You, and me."

He swallowed once before his eyes fell to the ground, but then stopped walking and shot at her, "Why? Why would you go so far for me, but abandon your own family?"

She stopped as well and stared down at him critically, debating over how much to tell him. Finally, she settled with explaining sadly, "My family is not like the kind of 'family' you know, Sasuke-kun…"

"That doesn't make any sense!" He shouted at her, "What is that even supposed to mean!?"

She let out a sigh, seeing that he wasn't going to let this one rest, and, spying a bench beneath a shady tree nearby, she pointed it out, "We're going to need to sit down… It's a very long story, you know, and I'm not too fond of retelling it…"

* * *

**Wow. Talk about LOOOOONG... 24 pages in total. That's about 14,000 words.**

**There's probably a lot of mistakes in here, but I wanted to get this out to you guys.**

**Also, as you've probably noticed, Nanoha says 'ne' and 'you know' a lot. It's a speech tic. It's SUPPOSED to be annoying.**

**Next chapter should be out next Sunday. The start of 'Nanoha's past' arc. Itachi's POV. Might last a few chapters. Or not. I can never be sure.**

**As always, your opinion helps with the writing process, so thank you Miyuusen and everyone else!**


	3. Lie—The Girl With the Happiest Smile

**The Little Book of Truths and Lies**

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**Lie—The Girl With the Happiest Smile**

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The day had started out normally enough. He'd readied himself for the academy in record time, received his lunch from Mother, and endured a sloppy kiss with practiced grace. Lastly, he deflected all his little brother's complaints with promises of playing with him after school, to which Mother corrected him sternly, '_After_ _homework_.' He agreed since he got most of his homework done during class anyway. It was a bit of a useless practice for him, since it was designed to familiarize the student with the subject and drill it into their memories…but Itachi never forgot anything. Though he supposed it would be unfair to the other students if he was the only one who didn't get assigned homework. He concluded that it also acquainted them with the practice of writing up reports for missions and the like, so in the end, he deemed it as a necessary evil.

He was to drop off Father's lunch—which he forgot, with the excuse, '_Too much work to do, never enough time to do it._' Which was true; father was _swamped_ at work lately, having no time for much of anything—which was understandable, since he was the honorable head of the Uchiha Police force, not to mention the clan itself. But recently it was as if a title wave of troublesome things had knocked all of them into hyper force mode, telephones ringing off the hook, people scurrying around the offices like frenzied insects—it was a mad house… Itachi truthfully felt pity for Father, having to be the one to organize all the mess singlehandedly. He reasoned it wouldn't be for long though. Itachi was adeptly rising to be the best student at the academy, even above the upperclassmen, and they weren't even halfway through the curriculum yet. He planned to graduate within the year, and rise through the ranks as quickly as possible in order to help Father, and through him, the village. A simple plan, in theory…

He didn't stay long, simply dropping off Mother's bento with Father's secretary before promptly being on his way. Itachi made it a habit to be on time for every class, and had never broken the trend. He wasn't going to either, since being late would just bring him unwanted attention; He needed to hurry. He didn't even have time to appreciate the crisp morning air or the familiar scenery of the village streets, people getting ready for their own morning routines. Some he knew, and waved accordingly in a distracted way. The compound was located at the outskirts of the village, after all, and it was only because he was who he was that he even managed to make it to the academy on time in the first place.

Again, the day had started out normally enough…monotonous, almost, in its familiarity. He answered questions correctly when called upon, endured the praise showered upon him by teachers and classmates that always made him feel uncomfortable, as well as the envy that he knew was inevitable. Human beings were capricious by nature and were equally capable of both great kindness and great cruelty; love and hate. He hoped one day, as a species, they would all be able to learn to love instead of hate, to be kind instead of cruel. In other words, he was a bit of an optimist, though even the greatest of optimists have their moments of doubt… So in that sense, he was a bit of a pessimist too—which was why he was so grateful for Shisui's existence, because, remarkably, the older boy never seemed to run out of optimism.

It was then, as he was absorbed within an internal philosophical debate with himself, staring aimlessly out the window a seat away from him, that something happening at the front of the class beckoned his attention. Itachi's first thoughts about the girl were that she seemed to be unremarkable, nothing about her standing out…other than the long curtain of straight hair, parted straight down the middle, tinted the deepest shade of mahogany red he'd ever seen. He thought he'd read something once about the surviving members of the Uzumaki clan having that particular trademark characteristic. It would certainly explain the sudden transfer so late in the curriculum, since the survivors were scattered, and though you didn't stumble across them every other day of the week, Konoha would make an effort to help out the ones they did to further honor the alliance with the former village of Ushiogakure. The Uzumaki clan symbol was even integrated into the chunin vests to emphasize this. There was even a time when the Uzumaki were just about as prominent as his own clan, maybe even more so…though it seemed evident, given the clan's current status, that being the best didn't always do you favors. Itachi had learned that the hard way.

"Saa," Daikoku-sensei prompted the visibly bashful girl, giving her a gentle little push forwards, "why don't you introduce yourself?"

"A…ano…ne…" Her voice was small and a little high pitched, hesitating only once before aiming a bright smile at everyone and cheerfully stating, "Good morning!"

A few people giggled, because it was painfully obvious that it was already several hours past noon. The proper greeting would've been, 'Good evening,' or 'How is everyone today?' but it seemed the girl paid no mind to this, and either didn't realize her mistake or didn't care, because she went on to say, "I'm Nano! U-uzumaki Nanoha. Please call me Nano-chan, ne?" He was, of course, unsurprised at the family name, but Itachi's eyes narrowed slightly…because the first name was familiar as well. She beamed happily at everyone and continued, "It's my first time being in such a large village so…" Bowing respectfully, her hair tumbled over her shoulders, nearly touching the floor, and she recited the phrase, "I apologize in advance for the trouble, but please take care of me, ne?"

The name was familiar because it was the one his father had been cursing under his breath for nearly a month, although Itachi knew her only as Nanoha, not 'Uzumaki.' However, it was much too much of a coincidence. This girl was undoubtedly the reason for all the trouble at the police station. It seemed that the Daimyo's heir had been murdered in cold blood a little over a month ago, and the leader of the fire country, at a loss for what else to do, had issued an investigation from Konoha's very own Uchiha Police Force. The girl was the only lead they could seem to find—and even _her_, they had stumbled upon by accident. Furthermore, there were complications in the interrogation prompting his father to engage on a near frantic search for qualified seal breakers… It was quite the conundrum. But what was she doing _here_…?

Of course, like everyone else, Itachi was more than a little curious about the new student—for his own reasons—but that was before she was assigned to the window seat next to him. No matter who they were, girls always seemed to stir up some sort of trouble around him for unknown reasons, which was why he could never really find it in him to make friends with anyone of them if only to avoid the drama that would follow. He already noticed several glares being aimed at the new girl, though she remained seemingly oblivious to it all, and sent him a vague, glassy smile. With a measure of guilt, he returned it with a polite nod of his head, knowing that the blameless, careless smile she'd just given him would inevitably earn her at least a week's worth of bullying until she decided to ask for a change of seats; if she didn't, he would. She seemed like a nice enough girl…maybe someone he could've even made friends with under normal circumstances. He didn't want unnecessary harm to befall someone because of him. Indeed, it seemed that after all, being number one wasn't all it was cracked up to be…

It started during the last evening lecture, with little notes being aimed at her head. Unfolding one of them, she tilted her head to the side quizzically then, to his surprise, she reached over, poking him gently to get his attention, "Ano…ne…forgive me, this is a little embarrassing, but do you know what this Kanji means? At this rate I won't be able to read anything at all, hehe…"

There was a mortified gasp several seats back from the girl who threw it, which he ignored as his eyes involuntarily scanned the nasty note. He previously had no idea how vicious females could be to other females until that day. There was no way he could actually read any of it out loud to her—he reasoned that it must've been the purpose for cowardly conveying the message in note form instead of face to face—so, he decided to make it up. Smiling considerately at the new girl, he lied to spare her feelings, "It's special shinobi code for 'welcome to the class.' I'm sure you'll make lots of friends here."

"Code…?" The girl cocked her head thoughtfully, then smiled, "Like a puzzle? That sounds like so much fun, ne?" Though Itachi didn't see how anyone could equate ciphering code to _'fun_,' he had to admire her enthusiasm. Much later, he'd reason if he held the same enthusiasm as Nanoha had back then, he would've graduated from the academy the very next day as opposed to the end of the year. Still, as he observed when Daikoku-sensei was going over an exceptionally hard to grasp concept about chakra, the new girl seemed to have her ups and downs just like everyone else…

It was quite suddenly that she let out a barely audible breath—almost like a sigh—and her body suddenly went limp, slumping forward lifelessly, her forehead hitting the surface of the desk with a painful sounding '_bang'_ loud enough to draw the attention and silence everyone in the room. Itachi stopped taking notes immediately as he felt shock, almost at a complete loss at what to do about his abruptly unresponsive neighbor. His hesitation was imperceptible though as he transitioned just as quickly back into sensibleness, reaching over quickly to shake her shoulder, "Nanoha-san. Nanoha-san, can you hear me?"

He withdrew contact immediately as he heard her groan, and in the silence it seemed much louder than it actually was, "Ne…it's exactly as I thought…" Her voice was completely devoid of her former enthusiasm as she explained in the most depressed sounding voice Itachi thought he'd ever heard escape from a seven year old, "As I thought…I still don't understand a single thing since I sat down. I'm sorry for being stupid. I should really just die." And although nothing about her words was especially funny—Itachi actually felt she was truly regretful for her seeming lack of intelligence—it was the sad, little, pathetic voice in which she said it, in the utter random timing of the statement, and the way in which it was delivered that prompted everyone, except for he and Daikoku-sensei, to laugh at her. She just kept apologizing ridiculously as Daikoku-sensei reprimanded her. Once he got over the bizarreness of the situation, even Itachi couldn't help but let out a few laughs at her expense. There truly was nothing remarkable about the girl named Nanoha in the slightest.

Still, he felt it justifiably peculiar enough an event to mention over dinner conversation back at home, "The girl who sits next to me at the academy is very stupid." Sasuke snorted into his rice bowl.

"_Itachi_…" Mother reprimanded him sternly for the blunt statement, "you know you shouldn't underestimate others, even if they are less advanced than you are."

"Of course not, Mother." He agreed, "Though I am simply repeating the words she admitted herself. She is very…odd, that girl. I found it worth mentioning."

Sasuke, snickering again, laughed, "Girls are gross! Right, Nii-san?"

"I'm not sure if that's the right word for it…" He corrected his little brother, albeit, a bit uncertainly, "They're just very hard to understand."

"Yeah, but girls have cooties…" He insisted, pouting just a bit; it was effectively adorable.

Itachi sent him an amused smile as Mother shook her head, exasperated. Surprisingly, it was Father who corrected him, "Don't be ridiculous Sasuke. Only girls from the Aburame clan have cooties, therefore it would be in your best interest not to make any of them angry by laughing at them, lest they decide to teach you a valuable lesson you won't easily forget…"

For some reason, this made Mother laugh, though she tried desperately to hide it. By the stiffening of Father's already severe features, Itachi ventured to assume he was possibly taught this very same lesson in his youth—most likely the hard way—and unlike Mother, who evidently remembered the event with _vivid_ clarity, Itachi hid his amusement to preserve his stern father's dignity. The patriarch of the family then went on to abruptly change the subject, "Itachi, tell me, is this girl you mentioned called Uzumaki Nanoha?"

Raising his brows slightly, he confirmed it with a nod, and questioned, "Is it the same Nanoha from the investigation?"

He let out a long sigh, closed his eyes, and then slowly shook his head with exhaustion, "I trust you've not spoken about that in front of anyone else… We've recently had a breakthrough. The seal is fading, and she's been able to give some details of her background…" Fugaku went on to state, "It seems the entire matter may have been entirely swept under the table if it weren't for the existence of that Nanoha…" Shaking his head again in a rare display of pity from the man, he explained, "We found her lost, tearing around the forest on the boarders of the village territory a few weeks ago when a patrol from our division was sent out. The girl was fatigued, half-starved, and frantic. Until recently, the seal preventing her from divulging the necessary information impeded the ongoing investigation, but as I said—it's beginning to fade, so a seal breaker may not be entirely necessary…" His voice went quieter, "The name Uzumaki came up during interrogations—although the girl's features and the nature of the seal itself already alluded to their involvement since the beginning."

Mikoto set her chopsticks down to raise her fingers to her lips tremulously, "Uzumaki? Interrogation? Dear, they didn't actually…to a child…that…"

"Of course not." Fugaku shook his head once again, as Sasuke's darted back and forth from speaker to speaker. This was quickly verging on the borders of his fragile two-and-a-half-year-old understanding into 'adult talk,' and he frowned with a mixture of confusion and irritation. Itachi patted his head sympathetically. It was probably _better_ he didn't understand what mother was implying just yet…not just yet. Father moved on to inform her, "She's not an immediate threat, although…that girl is no pushover. The seal notwithstanding, fading or not, she mistrusts adults. Since we can't retrieve the information by force without destroying the girl, and there is no way to be sure of what is blocked by the seal and what she is _intentionally_ withholding, we have no other choice than to wait for the seal to fade completely…which could take months…or even _years—_we don't know." He pinched the bridge of his nose with frustration, "As for what we've gathered already, it seems she's lost both her parents. As for their identities, that much remains a mystery except that the mother was originally from the Uzumaki clan."

"How awful…" Mother murmured softly, "That child… How devastated she must be…" After another moment of thought she mused contemplatively, "I wonder if she could possibly be a relative of Kushina's…?"

"Anything is possible at this point…" Father sighed.

So he'd been correct to assume Uzumaki… Though, Itachi couldn't quite seem to get the cheerful smile she'd aimed at him out of his head. Opposed to being 'devastated' as Mother had suggested, Nanoha had seemed so carefree, even as she exhibited her comical display of discouragement at the complicated class material that afternoon—afterwards, she'd laughed along with the rest of the class, rubbing her head sheepishly with her endless apologies. He tried to imagine losing his own mother and father, his home_, the village__—_then stopped, as it proved too painful to even contemplate. He stared down at the remaining food on his plate with a sudden chill and all too soon got the feeling that he wasn't hungry anymore...

So engrossed in his thoughts, Itachi almost didn't catch the rest of the conversation as his father went on, "In any case, despite a lack of conclusive evidence, the investigation is still ongoing, as Hokage-sama has deemed this disaster as a possible threat to the current peace within Fire Country. Undoubtedly more information will surface at some point, but until then...there is still much work to do."

There was still something bothering Itachi though, the smile he'd seen on her face flashing again before his mind's eye, "But why is she at the academy then, if the investigation is still in progress?"

His father frowned, "The interrogator has suggested being around other children her age may encourage her to trust more easily and instigate her cooperation with the investigation. Since she is not a threat, and there is no way she could possibly understand the curriculum at this point in time without prior training, she's simply there for the psychological conditioning. If we cannot use force, we'll have to use manipulation. Perhaps, given enough time, she may even become an asset to the village, this infernal issue will be behind us, and I can finally get back to work instead of slaving away behind a desk…"

Itachi thought quietly, then spoke up, "Father…is there anything I can do to help?"

The dark haired man raised both his strongly arched brows thoughtfully, and pondered this for a moment until his eyes lit up; Itachi knew that look. It was almost as if he could _hear_ the voice in his father's head saying '_bingo'_ and Fugaku replied, "Perhaps you _could_ be of some use… You said your assigned seat is directly beside the girl's, is that correct?" Itachi nodded, listening intently as Father went on, "You might make an attempt at befriending her—gain her trust… There are some things children only tell to other children—though, you've never exactly been categorized as a 'normal' child, Itachi, you still _look_ like one. This, and the fortuitous seating arrangements, can be used to our advantage."

"Eh? Nii-san isn't 'normal?'" Sasuke questioned, finally catching up with the conversation with his large, too-big-for-his-face eyes clouded in confusion.

Mother smiled sympathetically at him from across the table, "What Dad means is 'special.' Your big brother is a very special child."

Itachi couldn't help smiling at his dismayed features and patted his head once again, supplying, "What Mom means is 'you're special too', Sasuke.'" When Mother grinned at him from across the table, Sasuke finally smiled with revived confidence.

But Itachi was primarily focused on Father's proposal, and he clarified, "You want me to spy on Uzumaki Nanoha." It was more of a statement than a question.

"Maybe that's not the most accurate term…" Mother replied instead, contemplating the issue thoughtfully, "Perhaps you could _both_ be of use each other? Help Nanoha-chan with her studies, and in return you can gather information? It seems to be a fair exchange, no? Even if she were to be unaware of it…" She smiled softly, sadly, "Besides, I feel sorry for that girl. Don't you think it would be nice if she could make a friend? A relative of Kushina's is sure to be interesting. I already know that much."

"'Interesting' is one word for it…" Father shook his head with the remark, "'Bizarre' is another…"

"Oh, be _nice_…" Mother scolded him, "…That poor girl has gone through enough, wouldn't you agree, Dear?" He nodded his head in acknowledgement, chided to some extent. Itachi noted that Mother was the only one Father was afraid of.

Still he went on to ask, "So, Itachi…what will you do?"

He thought about it for a good long while, staring down at his uneaten dinner and warring with himself internally. On one hand, he could possibly help the village, while on the other…he'd be going against what his heart was telling him. In the end, he decided, "…A friend is not a friend who would give away his friend's secrets...so I do not intend to be what you would call 'friend' to that girl by anything past appearances." He nodded at both his parents respectfully in turn, "Though I will do as you ask…Father…Mother."

Father nodded, returning to his own dinner with the simple statement, "As expected from my son."

He didn't know why, but that one simple statement bothered him. Later, as the two brothers sat side by side on the porch overlooking the courtyard, they listened to the bell crickets in the bushes and watched the fireflies begin to awaken for their nightly dance. It was peaceful, until Finally, Sasuke broke the silence between them and asked incredulously, "Are you _really_ going to pretend to be friends with a _girl_?"

Under any other circumstances, Itachi might've laughed at his little brother's question—asked so suddenly and with such a _face_—but instead, he simply smiled ruefully, "In life, sometimes you have to do things you _really_ don't want to do…"

"I don't understand that _at all_..." Sasuke puffed his cheeks out childishly but contemplated his bare, swinging feet, dangling off the side of the porch, before looking up with determination, "But I want to help too! So then Dad will say, 'as expected' to me too, right?"

"Heh…I suppose he would." Itachi didn't know where the cynical attitude was coming from. He decided it didn't suit him, and contemplated Sasuke's proposal more thoughtfully, "Alright…I don't see any reason why not. Just don't mention anything about cooties. I wouldn't do that unless you want to learn the same lesson Dad did…"

His little brother's face suddenly turned apprehensive and he inquired in a quieter voice, "Do…do you think she's scary?"

Itachi thought back on his memories of a tall, pregnant woman with similarly colored red hair and felt the corners of his mouth pull up in a slight smirk, "…If she's anything like Kushina-san, I wouldn't doubt it."

Though Itachi was relieved, to say the least, that the girl showed no obvious traits to betray her relation to Konoha's former Red Hot Habanero at all. In fact, the two seemed completely different from what Itachi could recall about his Mother's best friend. He was beginning to suspect that Kokuri Nanoha might quite possibly be the most oblivious person he'd ever met, not to mention the dead last out of their entire class. He also observed her as a bit of a crybaby; she burst out crying every time somebody beat her during sparing or whenever Daikoku-sensei yelled at her—which tended to be a lot. In no time at all, the chunin instructor gave up on her.

Ever since Itachi had first started attending the academy in the beginning of the year he noticed a trend in Daikoku-sensei's class. For one, there were a lot less people in the class currently than there were in the beginning. One by one, the jokers, the weaklings, and the slackers just stopped coming. Daikoku-sensei had a tendency to ignore these students instead of helping them at some point, writing them off as hopeless cases like Nanoha, and focusing more on the students like Itachi.

But Itachi honestly didn't see Nanoha as what you would call a 'completely hopeless case' as Daikoku-sensei so often liked to quote. By watching her face of concentration out of the corner of his eye, and the way her pencil flew across her notebook as she copied down every word their instructor said, he could tell she was trying her very best to catch up with the rest of them even if she still didn't understand anything, even if it was impossible. However, with his observation, he could tell that her attention span only lasted for about thirty minutes at a time at best, at which point she would gaze out the window dreamily, fall asleep, or doodle on the margins of her notebook; She always drew Daikoku-sensei with a huge nose—which, albeit wasn't too far off from the original… The subject himself wasn't too pleased however.

Somehow, despite how boring class usually was, as the days carried on in this fashion, Itachi was surprised to find them growing steadily more interesting. Though he was sure Nanoha had a very different opinion on things. She would smile blandly at anything or anyone who caught her eye when she was around others, but during lunch hour, Itachi could sense her trying to shroud herself just out of sight under the classroom window she sat at every day. The day he heard a faint sniffling sound over the sill, he figured it was about time for him to intervene; to move on from simple observation and start gathering more important information.

Sticking his head out the window, he had to give her credit. He didn't think he would have noticed her if she hadn't been making noise and he hadn't been looking directly down at her. She seemed to possess a natural sort of stealth, but she ruined it by not even trying, or vice versa, trying too hard. They'd have to work on that, "Hey."

She let out a little squeak, jumping violently, and almost vaulting out of her hiding spot into the path of some girls. Regaining herself, though her body was still crouched low to the ground and poised to bolt, she blinked straight up at him with her startled, bright amber eyes, that showed signs of tears on their slightly puffy lids. But as recognition quickly lightened in them, her face instantly morphed back to her usual airy smiles, and she trilled carelessly, "Oh, so it's just you, Itachi-kun, ne? You scared the poop out of me, you know? If I screamed any louder than that, Umeko would've come over and beat me up, ne? She hates me, you know, but I don't really know why…'cause, you know, I don't _think_ I really did anything to make her mad at me and all, but…" He listened tolerantly as she rambled on and on about how mean Umeko was—which, incidentally, he thought was _true—_aftercrossing her legs, and cocking her head, all the while staring up at him as if he were an exotic bird in a tree. He noticed she had a bit of a funny speech tic, flinging about a bunch of unnecessary 'ne?'s and 'you know?'s throughout her sentences, making her seem as if she was asking a bunch of silly questions, so he nodded every once and a while at just the right places in her stream of nonsense until she suddenly pointed up at him accusingly, "And I figured out what that super-duper-secret shinobi code _really_ meant, you know! You're a big liar, you know that, Itachi-kun!? Don't make fun of me, ne?"

It wasn't really the accusation itself that made him laugh—after all, it was the truth—but the way she said it, though he apologized through it as best as he could, "I'm sorry. Forgive me, Nano-chan."

"You're not _sorry,_ you're _laughing!"_ She pointed at him, sticking her lip out childishly in a pout, "It's not funny, you know!?"

It just made him want to laugh more, and he shook his head, "I know that. It's just the way you talk. It's ridiculous."

She gave him a helpless look, "But I can't do anything about it! I'm stupid, remember?" Her head sunk down low in one of her sporadic depressions again, her body slumping as if she were a marionette without strings to hold it up, murmuring to the ground, "Daikoku-sensei is always mad, 'cause I can't do anything right, you know? And you were wrong, Itachi-kun…nobody wants to be my friend… I can't catch up to _anybody..._ Maybe I should just…"

"Give up?" Itachi had stopped laughing, staring down at her seriously then, "…It's true. With that kind of attitude, perhaps you should. You really _will_ die at this rate…or worse, you'll get someone _else_ killed. If that's the case, you should just stay home and find something else to do with your life, rather than endanger others'."

She flinched at Itachi's harsh judgment, though he hadn't said it unkindly or with intent to hurt her. It was simply the ugly truth all the parents liked to avoid talking about to their children whenever they decided they wanted to go to the academy; that's why half of the kids who had shown up at the entrance ceremony—mostly civilian kids—no longer came to school. It was the 'disclaimer' they conveniently forgot to put on the entrance form at the beginning of the year. He supposed it was only fair that every student heard it at least once. Nanoha stared down at the ground blankly, her face ashen.

Suddenly, he asked her curiously, "Do you even _want_ to become a shinobi, Nano-chan?"

At the question she looked up at him slowly, opened her mouth as if to speak, as if to confide in him, as if to relay some sort of precious secret, before thinking better of it and letting her head droop again, seeming to study her hands in her lap critically. Sighing, Itachi was about to withdraw from the window, feeling unsuccessful at his first attempt at breaking through to her, when her head snapped up and she broke her silence with, "Hands!"

He couldn't help but arch his brow at her, repeating the word blankly, "…Hands?"

She nodded once, "These." She held up both appendages strangely as if they didn't belong to her, "These hands…" She let them fall back to her lap lifelessly and stared down at them again, "they're useless…it's true. I can't do anything with them…but…in this new place…" She looked up at him then with bright, burning eyes, "I wanted to learn how to protect someone… With these two hands of mine, I want to be of use to somebody, even if it's just a little. So, forgive me…but I don't want to give up just yet, Itachi-kun. Even if it hurts, I'll keep going if it means these hands of mine can help someone precious to me…someday…maybe sooner, ne?"

With that, Itachi sighed. He hadn't wanted to get more involved than absolutely necessary, but then she had to go and say something like _that…_ He decided that she reminded him of Shisui just a bit. Shaking his head, '_I suppose it can't be helped_…' he told her seriously, "If you want my advice…find someone strong, whom you admire, and observe carefully. In your own way, try to become like that person. If you do that…you will become strong too."

"Oh, but…" She replied thoughtfully, looking at him in a perplexed way that something in his mind registered as 'cute,' but he ignored it, "who should that person be?"

With that, he reached into his school bag to retrieve a text he'd just finished reading on the village and the Hokage, then dropped it out the window into her lap, "I'll let you borrow this. There's plenty of people you could emulate in there."

"Ah, but…" She began again, but Itachi had already withdrawn from the window, through with his good deed for the day and processing the information he'd received. The only other words he heard from her were a faint, "Thank you…"

He had to give her credit though. When she came to the inevitable dead end in her attention span for the class material, she stopped taking notes and took out the book, which seemed to hold her attention much more efficiently. Every once and a while—since it seemed wherever she'd originally come from hadn't put much of an emphasis on reading—she'd tap his arm when she found a kanji she didn't recognize and ask him to sound it out for her. He didn't mind, because truth be told, he was just as uninterested in the class material as she was, albeit for different reasons. From close observation, he gathered that Nanoha learned more efficiently by a mixture of self-study and hands on visual instruction—the latter of which Daikoku-sensei hardly ever provided for her, being more focused on the advanced students. In short, it seemed as if placing her in the academy was a bit of a cruel joke that Nanoha hadn't been let in on yet. She was doomed to failure from the start.

Even so, that she still smiled and waved cheerfully at him as he watched someone he recognized from the police force escort her happily away as soon as class let out—probably to her daily interrogation and temporary residence at the police station—made her seem like the most pitiful creature he thought he'd ever met. No parents, no friends, no home, and she still found it in herself to give him that perplexing, inexplicably happy smile. She was either very good at hiding things, which he doubted, or, much likelier, completely oblivious to the severity of her situation. He wished that she wouldn't smile at him; it only made his job more difficult. Though he supposed the word 'simple' had never been indicative of this mission from the moment he agreed to take it on—because that's exactly what it was: A mission. Yes, Itachi had known exactly what he was getting himself into from the start.

Or so it seemed at the time…

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**Yeah, so, this isn't even a _tenth_ of how long the chapter was last time, but I wanted to get this out to you guys by Sunday at the latest—USA time—and look! *gasp* It's _early!_ ****I'm trying to do something new and innovative here and actually update in a timely manner! I know, right? It's crazy!**

**But yeah, feed the writer please? It helps a lot. Thanks again for everyone that's reviewed. Love you guys :) **

**Any criticism or advice is highly welcomed.**

**(Oh, yeah, and Miyuu—you, me, skype, NOW... Okay, it's really not that urgent, but seriously. We need to talk. And no, I'm not breaking up with you!)**


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